AUS vs ENG: Moeen Ali Announces Test Retirement Following Ashes 2023 Finale

The 36-year-old England National Cricket Team all-rounder Moeen Ali officially announced his retirement from Test cricket once again after the conclusion of the Ashes 2023 series.

The all-rounder had said goodbye to the longest format of the game way back in 2021. However, he decided to make a comeback to Test cricket after discussions with captain Ben Stokes, head coach Brendon McCullum and Managing Director Rob Key.

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He was included in Ashes 2023 squad of England as a replacement for spinner Jack Leach, who got ruled out of the entire series due to a severe injury.

After his inclusion in the team, Moeen Ali revealed a one-word message from skipper Stokes that led to his return to Test cricket.

“‘Stokesy’ messaged me with a question mark, ‘Ashes?’,” Moeen revealed.

“I didn’t hear the news of ‘Leachy’ at the time, and I just went ‘LOL’, thinking he’s taking the mick.”

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Moeen Ali Retires From Test Cricket

Moeen Ali announced his retirement after England beat Australia in the Ashes finale by 49 runs to level the series 2-2. He said that if Ben Stokes messages him again to take part in the India tour next year, he will delete his skipper’s message.

“No, I know I’m done. If Stokes messages me again, I’m going to delete it. That’s me done. I’ve had a great time but I know that’s it for me,” he said on Sky Sports.

Moeen Ali added that he had a great time representing England once again in Test cricket. He elaborated:

“Been amazing, great to come back. Was taken aback when I got the message from Stokes, didn’t know that Leach was injured but I really enjoyed it after coming into the series. I knew mentally it was going to be tough but I knew the toughest thing was going to be physical. Was an amazing series, I’ll never forget. I thought it’s going to be my last few Test matches so I’ll do it for the team. I’ve batted at three before so it was great.”

“As soon as I saw it going into his hand I thought it was out but I was gutted when I saw it went down. I thought I’m never going to get Steve Smith out again. These things happen in Test cricket. Happy for Bairstow, he’s done really well with the bat and gloves. Really pleased for Broad as well for the way he finished. It proves that our approach is great especially against a quality bowling attack. Zak Crawley and Duckett have been amazing. Great to see Jimmy (Anderson) still going. You see Baz sat back all the time, I really love that style of coaching. The backroom staff have been amazing,” Moeen Ali concluded.

Moeen Ali performed very well for England throughout the series with both the bat and ball. In the Lord’s Test, he scored 18 & 19 and with the ball, he registered bowling figures of 2/147 & 1/57.

Moeen was forced to miss the next fixture at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London for England as he sustained a finger injury in the first Test. However, he quickly recovered from the finger injury and participated in the next three matches at the Headingley in Leeds, Old Trafford in Manchester, and Kennington Oval in London while making amazing contributions.

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