Moeen Ali comes out of Test retirement, joins England's Ashes team

England all-rounder Moeen Ali has been added to the Ashes squad for the first two tests, the country’s cricket board (ECB) said on Wednesday, after spinner Jack Leach was ruled out of the series. Moeen Ali had stepped away from Test cricket to focus on limited-overs cricket. However, after discussions with test captain Ben Stokes, he reversed his decision.

Following discussions with test captain Ben Stokes, coach Brendon McCullum, and ECB men’s managing director Rob Key, the 35-year-old reversed his decision to focus on limited-overs cricket.

Moeen made his test debut in 2014, and his final test was in September 2021 at the Oval against India. He scored 2,914 runs in 64 tests at a normal of 28.29, and got 195 wickets with his off-turn.

“We reached out to ‘Mo’ early this week about returning to test cricket. Having had a couple of days to reflect, Mo is excited to join the squad and play test cricket again,”

“His vast experience, along with his all-round ability, will benefit our Ashes campaign.”

Key said.

Due to a stress fracture in his back, Leach, who took four wickets in England’s victory over Ireland in their warm-up test, will not play in the five-match series against Australia.

With fast bowler Jofra Archer also out, his injury is the latest setback for England’s bowling department in the lead-up to the series. The Ashes get going at Edgbaston on June 16.