I’VE LET MY COUNTRY DOWN SO FAR, SAYS MOEEN
Moeen Ali believes he has let england and his captain Joe Root down by failing to make an impact so far in the Ashes.
The off- spinner has been a shadow of his usual self in two Tests where his opposite number nathan lyon has proved the scourge of england.
now Moeen, who asked to play in today’s warm-up game against a Cricket Australia Xi in an attempt to spend more time in the middle, has taken his share of the blame for england falling two down with three Tests to play.
‘You feel like you’ve let the team down and the captain especially,’ said Moeen, who has taken two wickets so far compared to lyon’s 11. ‘The same happened once before when i felt i’d let Alastair Cook down. it’s not easy.
‘lyon is bowling so well and you compare yourself to that and try even harder. But it’s where i’m at with my game. He has a lot more international experience than me and we do have different roles.’
lyon, now the leading Test wicket-taker of 2017, has dismissed Moeen four times out of four here. ‘i’m not too concerned about a pattern,’ said Moeen. ‘But it is the best i’ve seen him bowl. The revs, the areas he’s bowling, everything.’
Moeen, who was due to captain england against the CA Xi as the only first-choice england player in the team, has not been helped by the side injury that kept him out of the opening two warm-up games of this tour and then a cut to his spinning finger. That is still enough of a concern for him to, surprisingly, decide not to bowl in this two-day practice match.
‘i don’t know why it hasn’t worked out here so far for me,’ said the 30-year-old. ‘The finger is not an excuse. i didn’t want to get carried away last summer and say i was a world- class spinner because i knew how hard it was going to be in Australia. i just feel there is still a lot of work to be done on my bowling and hopefully it will get better in this series. it needs to get better.’
if there is one player you can guarantee will not get involved in the ugly sledging that has been such a feature of the opening two Tests it is Moeen. His Muslim faith has given him a calm and even temperament which makes it highly unlikely he would ever lose his temper on a cricket field.
He has, though, been subjected to the odd distasteful comment from the Australian crowd.
‘Someone in the crowd asked me what time my kebab shop opened,’ said Moeen without a hint of anger.
‘That’s about it. There’s been nothing major. one player told me i was batting a place too high at six and i said i was actually two spots too high but i think it went straight back over his head!’
Moeen accepts, however, that some personal sledging has gone on. ‘if it’s got personal then that’s a shame but you kind of expect it,’ said Moeen.
‘Both sides have probably done a bit but i try not to get involved. A lot of kids will be watching at home and i don’t want to let them or myself down.’
england, meanwhile, are considering a batting reshuffle in Thursday’s third Test which would see Moeen return to seven and Jonny Bairstow move up to six.