Moeen: I want to be known as a batsman who can bowl spin
England all-rounder tells Nick Hoult that he is desperate to cement his place at No 5 this summer
Moeen Ali admits he sometimes plays some “stinking shots” but wants to bat in the top order for England this summer and remind everyone that he is a “batsman who can bowl spin” rather than a front-line spinner.
Moeen had his best year with the bat in 2016. Four centuries, including two when he was batting in the top five in India, and more than 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year for the first time, have given Moeen the confidence to try finally to nail down his best role in the side this summer. With the ball it was a struggle. He took 37 wickets at 53 over the year and went backwards in India.
Last week he was left out of the England team for the two one-day internationals against Ireland as Joe Root filled in as second spinner.
Eoin Morgan, the one-day captain, still sees Moeen as a first-choice player for the Champions Trophy. While Moeen is a more effective bowler with the white ball, in Test cricket he needs to bat consistently well at No 5 to stay in the team. If he bats at eight, behind Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow, he will have to justify his position as the best spin bowler in England, and that is far from guaranteed.
When in full flow Moeen is one of the most attractive batsmen in the team but the odd dozy stroke has cost him his wicket. He is not going to change, however. “Ideally, I would love to bat at five. I would love to have the responsibility,” he said at the England and Wales Cricket Board’s launch with NatWest of their campaign ‘Cricket Has No Boundaries’.
“I batted at five in the winter, and did well, then got pushed up to No 4 – I know I played some stinking shots at times, but that’s part of my batting. Sometimes I would genuinely rather get out like that than block and ‘nick off ’. It might be the wrong option, but at least I’m trying to score runs.
“I want to be true to myself. When I get dropped, or when I finish, I’d rather look back and think, ‘ You know what, I played the way I wanted to play – I didn’t play like anybody else, I wasn’t afraid to use my feet and try to smack it over mid-on, which I thought at the time was the right thing to do’.
“I’m 29, hope I’m going into my peak years, and it ’s making me better – because I’ve been in situations not many openers or top three have been in, batting with the tail. With the ball as well, I feel like I’m getting better. I’m much more comfortable as a cricketer than I was three years ago.”
Stokes and Jos Buttler are due to return from the Indian Premier League today and tomorrow the England squad will meet up for fitness testing at the ECB academy in Loughborough. On Tuesday they fly to Spain for a training camp at the Desert Springs resort.