Stokes the superstar looks human after all Moeen has repaid debt to skipper
THE sight of Ben Stokes storming off the field to tend to his left knee provided a glimpse of the future — one in which every twinge and strain sends shudders through the England dressing room. Stokes, who had bowled only two overs at the time, returned after 25 minutes of running repairs. But for a side who have come to regard him as their heart, guts and soul — and with the Champions Trophy round the corner — it was a reminder of his value. The Indian Premier League recently managed to put a figure on it. After Rising Pune Supergiant picked him up at February’s auction for around £1.7million — a record for a non-Indian cricketer — he responded by being crowned as the tournament’s most valuable player. Suddenly, the Indian game
MOEEN ALI played a very intelligent innings yesterday — and england captain eoin Morgan deserves some of the credit.
Morgan batted superbly for his hundred, of course, but he had already done Moeen a great service by stating publicly that there was next to no chance of Jonny Bairstow batting at no 7 instead of him.
When Morgan said that, soon after the ireland series in which Moeen had missed both games, i was impressed by his decisiveness.
it seemed like a big call, given all the clamour over Bairstow’s inclusion, but i liked the fact that there was none of the usual flannel about it being a nice headache to have.
And it proved spot on, because it sent a clear message to Moeen. it said: we like who you are — and we’re going to back you.
Morgan’s faith was rewarded at Headingley after Moeen walked out to bat with england stuttering slightly at 198 for five.
it wasn’t an easy time to bat. There were nearly 16 overs to go and england had just lost two big wickets. The innings could have fallen away.
Moeen will admit he hasn’t always played the cleverest shots, and i can guarantee he will do something in the near future that leaves us with our heads in our hands.
But in this game he took his time, using up 20 balls for his first 12 runs, then shimmied down the pitch to launch Wayne Parnell over deep midwicket for six.
The key was that he didn’t go too hard, too early. South Africa had given him a leg-side field, and were tucking him up with short stuff, so they had done their homework.
Moeen chose the right moment to attack and when imran Tahir started tossing up his leg-breaks, he heaved him for three sixes. it helped england having three left-handers in their middle order, because imran prefers bowling his leg-breaks and googlies at the right-handers. Moeen hit him for 26 in eight balls.
That was smart batting and it also showed why Morgan backs him. if in doubt, Moeen always chooses the attacking option. Yes, it can go wrong. We saw in india how aggravating Moeen’s shot selection can be but that’s how Morgan encourages his team to play.
i know the runs haven’t always flowed for him since he moved down to no 7 in the one-day team after Jason Roy and Alex Hales cemented their opening partnership against new Zealand in 2015. But it’s the right place because he’s so adept at the kind of destructive cameo that brought him 77 off 51 balls here.
And Morgan was dead right when he said that playing a specialist batsman, like Bairstow, at no 7 effectively wasted a space. in the modern game, you need the player there to offer something else, which Moeen does with his off-spin.
When Stokes went off injured after only two overs, Moeen’s presence became even more important and he secured two wickets, including the crucial one of AB de Villiers.
This wasn’t the perfect england innings but they recovered well and managed 339. The key is to replicate that at the Champions Trophy.
it’s one thing to play with abandon in the first game of three. A semi-final is a different matter.
That will be england’s challenge once the tournament starts. Moeen has shown how it can be done — thanks to some excellent manmanagement from his captain.