Rushing Back To Test Cricket, Moeen Ali is Left to Feel the Pain

Moeen Ali’s return to Test Cricket was looked at as a moment of excitement. For his style of play, the new regime would suit him better than any period of his original Test career. On his comeback though, Moeen Ali, turning 36, had to go through one of his not so good birthdays. Turning 36 is tough as it is with the phase of the mid-thirties coming up, which is also a pretty big phase in a cricketers career as he looks for ways to extend his time out in the middle.

To add to the pressure, Moeen Ali was handed a fine for his finger as he sprayed a drying agent on his bowling hand without informing the umpires. The need for tthe drying agent was evident. With a blister on his spinning finger, which later turned into a pretty bad cut, Moeen Ali was struggling to bowl. He ended up bowling more full-tosses and half-trackers than he would have liked, and could not get much rip on the ball with his finger injured.

It was evident that Moeen Ali was struggling and the burdens of long form cricket were showing. With a few extra overs under his belt, the skin on his finger showed signs of wear and Moeen Ali was declining in effect and confidence as the day went on. He did bowl some beauties but was also taken apart, especially by Pat Cummins, who punished some poor full tosses by Moeen Ali.

To Ali’s defense though, the workload he had in this Test match was one of his most throughout his Test career. The fact that it came after a gap from first class cricket though elevated the effect on the finger, which gave away.

This isn’t the first time though for Moeen Ali, bowling with a bad finger. In 2017, playing in Australia, Moeen Ali went through the same issue. He continued to bowl through the series but ended up leaving Australian shores with only four wickets in five Tests at an average of 115. In 2019 as well, Moeen Ali went through a similar finger issue and this time he was left out all together as Jack Leach came in for the remaining four Tests.

Is Moeen the only one to blame though for this? England may have seen this coming with Moeen Ali coming off a gap in first class cricket. He did get fair turn and also bowled a really good ball to get Cameron Green. However, 29 overs in his first two days back may have been a little too much for the body to handle. By the end, he conceded 147 runs in the innings, which included some dropped chances off his bowling, and a few full tosses which were easy pickings.

England though will be unpertubed. Despite getting this marginal call with Ali wrong for the first Test, it will not be surprising to see him continue at Lords, and make a strong comeback as England too look to fightback after a close loss at Edgbaston.