Moeen Ali just could not get the batsman out in Australia. He tried, tried harder but just like England’s, his fortune too turned the back on him. He was never told but he was and probably still is England’s best spinner in the longest format and for him to return with only five wickets from Ashes was a body blow. The fact that he was exposed against the short ball while batting did not help either. Things turned worse in New Zealand. England were bowled out for 58 and Moeen’s contribution with the ball were a wicketless 17 overs. The proud man that he is, Moeen asked for his own exclusion from the Test side and the selectors obliged.
It all seemed prehistoric when on Friday, Moeen looked up from the top of his mark, and six fielders were waiting to hold on to a catch that will mark the first hat-trick of his career. Moeen Ali was back and how. “One bad winter (referring to the Ashes) doesn’t make you a bad cricketer. Yes, I had a terrible last winter, was low on confidence but everyone goes through a phase like that. I shrugged it off, cleared my mind to bring back the focus,” Ali said at the end of the day after picking up his third consecutive five-wicket haul (including first-class), which brought England right back into the contest in the fourth Test match at Southampton.
So what happened between the bad winter and a great summer? The County Championship of course, in his last two first-class matches Moeen Ali picked up 16 wickets and scored 246 runs including a double hundred as recent as last week. And throw in the staggering numbers of his performance in the T20 Blast – 248 runs and 5 wickets in five matches – the path of his transformation stands clear.
“Really enjoyed getting back to the county, it was great to perform with both bat and ball for Worcestershire and get my confidence back.”
Moeen was not included in the England side for the first three matches but selectors were somewhat forced to name him in the playing XI for the fourth Test because of terrific outing for Worcestershire
“It’s always nice to get a call-up when you’re in good form. County cricket have given me a lot of confidence, that’s what the counties are there for, to give confidence to the players,” said Moeen.
And confidence was oozing from his every delivery on Friday. Moeen is not a conventional off-spinner by any means. He doesn’t believe in a high-arm action, he is open-chested when most of the coaches advise bowling off-spin side-on. But that works for him, especially against India. He used the rough created outside the right-handers off stump perfectly to trigger an avalanche in India’s middle order.
"I know deep down that I'm not the perfect spinner but I know that, given my day, I can bowl a side out."
The all-rounder almost did that to India yet again. He picked up four wickets in three overs to turn the match on its head. From 181 for four, India were brought down to their knees at 198 for 8. If it wasn’t for a magnificent inning from Cheteshwar Pujara and some rearguard action from India’s no. 10 and 11 – Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah – England would have helped themselves to a lead, which seemed wishful thinking halfway through the day.