In a disappointing development for the fans of the England Test cricket team, the squad’s star all-rounder Moeen Ali has reportedly made up his mind to quit Test cricket and focus on the white-ball forms of the game. Ali was recently playing for the England cricket team in the ICC World Test Championship series against the Indian cricket team.
Ali is 34 years old right now. He has played 64 Test matches for the England cricket team so far, scoring 2,914 runs at a strike rate of 51.14. His highest score in the longest format of the game has been 155*, while his batting average has been close to 30. Moeen generally played in the middle-order for the England Test cricket team.
Moeen Ali has taken one 10-wicket match-haul in Test cricket
Speaking of his numbers in the bowling unit, the right-arm off-spin bowler has bagged 195 wickets in 112 Test innings. His best figures with the ball have been 6/53, while his best match figures are 10/112. Moeen Ali has bowled at an economy rate of 3.61 runs per over. His bowling average is 36.66, and his bowling strike rate is 60.70.
Shedding some light on his achievements as an all-rounder, Moeen has smashed five centuries and 14 half-centuries. He has hit 355 fours and 30 sixes, while also taking 40 catches as a fielder. Ali has 13 four-wicket hauls to his name. He has taken five 5-wicket hauls and a solitary 10-wicket match-haul in the longest format of the sport.
Twitter reacts to the English all-rounder’s big decision
According to reports, Moeen Ali has informed the England Test cricket team captain Joe Root and the team’s head coach Chris Silverwood about his intentions to leave Test cricket. Ali is currently playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.
Cricket fans on Twitter had different reactions to the big decision made by Ali. Here’s a look at the top reactions:
🚨🚨| BREAKING – Moeen Ali is set to announce his retirement from Test Cricket. He leaves test cricket with 64 caps, 2916 runs and 195 wickets. Only Derek Underwood and Graeme Swann have more test wickets than him. Thank you for everything Mo ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Y3E6XgpNaj
— TheCricketMen (@thecricketmen) September 26, 2021
Moeen Ali was and is really good at cricket. We all criticised him (some more than others) but we all also revelled in the beauty of his cover drives. Gower with, somehow, a bit more class. Effortless sixes and genuinely beautiful deliveries. Modern England great. pic.twitter.com/aQMhPQuFFJ
— TheRunOutBlog (@TheRunOutBlog1) September 26, 2021
Goodbye Moeen Ali. Thanks for the memories. pic.twitter.com/wkSqLoo5X6
— Simon Weaver (@mithril1005) September 26, 2021
Greatest memory of Moeen Ali in whites
The sheer resilience of the man, the sheer ruthlessness of the sport, the sheer heartbreak for every england cricket fan. All clubbed together
Mo retiring from Tests is good for elongating his career but what’s gotta hurt, just simply does pic.twitter.com/l25k0q2iAZ
Advertisement— Sritama Panda (@cricketpun_duh) September 26, 2021
Happy Retirement Moeen Ali ❤️
AdvertisementHere's Moeen Ali taking a wicket bowling medium pace in the County Championship 😍😍#MoeenAli #CSKpic.twitter.com/v5vY8kCTD5
— ABDULLAH NEAZ (@AbdullahNeaz) September 27, 2021
Complete list of players with more Test wickets AND more Test runs than Moeen Ali since he made his debut:
A function of England's scheduling? Yes. A function of his excellence? Double yes.
It's not even close, by the way. 50 more wickets or 1000 more runs than the nearest
Advertisement— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) September 26, 2021
Moeen Ali to Retire from Test Cricket .
Virat Kohli – #MoeenAli pic.twitter.com/PuxLP0KNZaAdvertisement— Akshat OM (@AkshatOM3) September 27, 2021
Probably my favourite Moeen Ali test moment pic.twitter.com/t7t69pQwvo
Advertisement— Dr Matt Swift (@MSwift94) September 26, 2021
Moeen Ali has a better strike rate than Jim Laker.
AdvertisementThis obviously does not make Moeen the better bowler (Laker had a far superior average, and across venues too).
But this proves that Moeen was a decent bowler for someone who could bat reasonably well in most positions.
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@SachinAzharCT) (@ovshake42) September 27, 2021
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Sad to read Moeen Ali is retiring from test cricket but enjoyed @GeorgeDobell1’s piece. Agree that he underachieved with the bat given how gifted he is. Hardly anyone as good to watch on his day as Mo, even if there weren’t many days like that recentlyhttps://t.co/JAoEheRFaf
— Jack Pitt-Brooke (@JackPittBrooke) September 26, 2021
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