Refreshed Moeen now ready to rumble again

ENGLAND are increasingly hopeful that a “refreshed and ready to go” Moeen Ali will end his Test exile before March’s tour of Sri Lanka.

Moeen has not played for England in any format since the first Ashes Test at the start of August, after which he was dropped despite a strong 12 months with the ball.

Feeling burned out, the all-rounder, 32, made himself unavailable for Test cricket at the end of the season after having his red-ball central contract taken away.

Moeen opened up in a Cricket Social interview on BBC on the fatigue, pressures and disappointment that drove him to take himself away from Test cricket.

He said: “I needed this break to recharge my batteries and work on a few things and just find that hunger and love for the game again.

“I felt burnout. I felt tired mentally and physically.

“The hardest bit is if we lose I feel I am one of the first guys to get the blame for it.

“Yes, there have been days when I have not had good games but I feel sometimes it is easy to point the finger at me. It did get to me and that was one of the reasons why I needed to step back.” Moeen had taken 48 wickets at 25.27 each in the year before he was dropped and England have missed him. With two Tests in Sri Lanka to come then five in India next winter, Root will be delighted to hear Moeen is ready to fight for his place again and will have discussions with him during the white-ball series in South Africa. Moeen added: “The break has been amazing. It’s the first time in many years I’ve been able to spend time away from cricket with my family, but I’m refreshed and ready to go again now.”