Fragile Moeen sums up travel sickness

THIS was always going to be a difficult tour for Moeen Ali, and in many ways his struggles have encapsulated one of the problems faced by English cricket at the moment: strong at home, fragile away. Moeen is a confidence player, especially with the ball. When he starts well, as he did against India in 2014 and South Africa last summer, he thrives. But when a lot is expected of him, he becomes uncertain. The fact that he sent down only six overs on the first day at the MCG suggested the lack of confidence in his bowling has spread to Joe Root. Moeen sees himself as a batsman who has been forced into bowling off-spin by England. The problem is that he is learning his job on the international circuit. He’s fine with Plan A, which almost always happens in England: he comes on after the big four seamers and any wickets he takes are regarded as a bonus. It’s when a Plan B is needed that he is less certain. Think of the subcontinent last winter when Moeen was up against Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and was suddenly expected to think outside the box. That’s when lack of experience counts against him. I don’t agree with any of the criticism 30-year-old Moeen has attracted. He’s been such an important cricketer for the English game over the past few years. For me, the constant reliance on him in overseas conditions is a damning indictment on English cricket. They have all these resources in place yet the best slow bowler they can come up with is a guy who doesn’t even regard himself as a frontline spinner. There is no magic solution. England are excellent at home and poor away, and Moeen embodies that dilemma. But to blame him for the failures of the system is ridiculous.