Australia’s veteran spinner Nathan Lyon came in support of the English spinner Moeen Ali. He also sympathized with him for delivering crucial spells on the final day of the Ashes 2023 opener as he bowled with a blistered finger. Moeen Ali who earlier announced his retirement from the longest format of the game, returned to the Test side again after a two-year gap. In the first Ashes 2023 Test, he sustained a wound on his right index finger on the second day at Edgbaston.
"It's massive, to be honest with you, I actually sitting here have a lot of sympathy for Moeen. Not coming off any red-ball cricket for two years and thrown into bowling a lot of overs. The best way I can probably sum it up, and it will probably sound weird, is a singer losing their vocals but expecting to go out and put a concert on," Lyon said in the post-match press conference.
"It is extremely tough to grip the ball as finger spinners, especially as offies, we put our fingers on the seam and try to spin up the back of the ball. That's where we get spin, drop and drift. So a lot of sympathy for him, I've been there before, it is quite painful," Lyon explained.
Even though Ali got injured, he took the wickets of Cameron Green and Travis Head in the first innings. He bowled four overs on day three and gave away 26 runs, including two maximums from the Australian skipper Pat Cummins in an over, before leaving for treatment.
Earlier, on Day 2 Moeen Ali also produced a magical delivery to get rid of Cameron Green. The Australian batter was looking dangerous but then Moeen came in and got his wicket by bowling a jaffa as Green departed after scoring 38. His delivery was pitched a bit outside the off stump but then it came in sharply and Green completely failed to judge it and the ball went on to crash the stumps.