Moeen Ali Added To England Test Squad For The Second Match At Lord’s Against India

England team management has recalled spin all-rounder Moeen Ali to the squad for the upcoming second Test match against India to be played from August 12 at the iconic Lord’s cricket ground. The series currently stands at 0-0 after the fifth day of the first Test in Nottingham was rained out.

The host’s team management failed to bring proper balance to their team especially in absence of their star all-rounders Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes and Indian bowlers exposed their frail top order, leading to the remainder of the batsmen to make up for them.

England was unable to find a place for a frontline spinner in the team that drew the first Test. However, Moeen Ali has played just one FC game in the last 23 months but has been in terrific form in the ongoing Hundred tournaments with him hitting a 23-ball half-century for Birmingham Phoenix on Monday night and has captained the side to the top of the table.

Moeen Ali Set To Play His First Test On Home Soil Since The 2019 Ashes

Moeen, the off-spinning all-rounder, is expected to join up with the squad at training today (Tuesday) and is expected to play in the second Test against India at Lord’s. This also means he will play his first home Test since Ashes 2019.

He had then taken an indefinite break from Test cricket for the remainder of the series as well as the subsequent tours of New Zealand and South Africa. To date, Ali has 189 wickets at 36.24 in 61 matches, at a sub-60 strike rate, which is better than that of the likes of Derek Underwood, Graeme Swann, and Jim Laker.

However, what has enticed ECB to add him to the squad is his record against India in recent times. He has taken 31 wickets at 22.22 across seven earlier matches in 2014 and 2018, including a Player-of-the-Match-winning 9-wicket haul at the Ageas Bowl following his mid-series recall in 2018.

He had played a Test match on England’s recent tour of India, making a 43 from 18 balls, made from No.9 in the closing moments of England’s defeat in Chennai in February. However, he was then sent back to England as part of the rotation policy.

Also Read: Sanjay Manjrekar Names His Playing XI For 2nd Test, No Room For The In Form All-Rounder