‘Spare part’ Moeen now a vital cog in England bowling machine
Earlier this year, Moeen Ali the T20 cricketer was an unwanted spare part. Not on the T20 franchise circuit, where the free market of the Indian Premier League judged his qualities worth £700,000. But by England, where he went 10 straight matches, including a five-game T20 series in India in March, without being selected in the final 11. Such reticence to select Moeen always seemed distinctly curious.
It seems even more so now, after Moeen followed winning the IPL with a player-of-thematch performance in England’s first T20 World Cup match. Moeen opened the bowling, largely because of his record against left-handers.
After his first over went for seven, spoiled by a last-ball six, Moeen was entrusted with a second over, with a left-hander still to bowl at. Yet Moeen began the over bowling to right-hander Lendl Simmons. His second ball was flighted on off stump, daring Simmons to hit with the spin; he did, but straight to Liam Livingstone at deep midwicket. With two left-handers in tandem, Eoin Morgan gave Moeen a third over. Shimron Hetmyer skipped down the track to strike two boundaries. Sensing the batsman’s intent, Moeen cramped him for room; Hetmyer’s attempted pull ended up in Morgan’s hands at mid-on. As the West Indies subsided to 31 for four by the end of the powerplay, Morgan sensed an opportunity to use Moeen in an unprecedented way for England: bowling four overs straight. With extra protection in the deep, Moeen conceded just two from his final over, ending with two for 17. It would be little exaggeration to say that these four overs decided the match.
And Moeen had removed England’s great fear: the runs their fifth bowler could leak. Livingstone and Moeen were expected to share those four overs; Moeen bowled so well that there was no need for Livingstone to bowl.
“To bowl his four overs straight through as he did, and to get us off to that start, to get those crucial wickets – it shows how adaptable he is,” head coach Chris Silverwood said.
Moeen will seldom find a situation so suited to him. In a T20 international, he has never delivered so many balls to left-handers as the 16 he did in Dubai. But his control to right-handers suggested that his bowling could be more valuable than England have often seen it. His performance may have significant implications for the rest of the World Cup campaign.
The use of Moeen, which is linked to whether Dawid Malan plays, is the key to England’s balance. If Moeen, backed by Livingstone, is able to reliably deliver four overs, it enables England to adopt their batting-heavy strategy. This entails selecting six specialist batsmen alongside Moeen, who would be carded at No 7, though could be promoted to attack spin. It is a formation that ensures England have batting depth while still allowing them to field six bowling options.
There remains an element of risk – Moeen’s economy rate to righthanders since the 2016 World Cup is 8.25, 1.5 an over more than to lefthanders. So a knockout match against India’s array of right-handers would be ill-suited to using Moeen as the fifth bowler.
Yet, even if England feel they need another bowler in some matches, they should not replace Moeen. His batting is what he is most valued for in T20. Last month, England bade farewell to Moeen the Test cricketer. But happily, they may be about to see the best of him in the international T20 game.