England All Rounder Moeen Ali To Retire From Test Matches To Focus On Limited Overs Cricket

Moeen Ali Retirement: The England all-rounder announces unexpected retirement from Test cricket. Reports suggest that he is weary of spending more time away from his family.

Moeen Ali in 2017. (File Photo/ Getty Images)

Moeen Ali Test Retirement: England all-rounder Moeen Ali has decided to retire from Test cricket. Moeen is currently playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL. Moeen says that he wants to focus more on limited-overs cricket, so he is retiring from Tests. 

Moeen's decision to retire ahead of the upcoming Ashes series against Australia has surprised everyone.

Moeen was also a part of his team in the recent Test series played between India and England. According to reports, Moeen had informed England captain Joe Root and coach Silverwood last week about his decision to quit Test cricket. As per ESPNCricinfo, Moeen is "uncomfortable with the prospect of an extended time away from home in the coming months."

England make an official announcement

6⃣4⃣ Test matches
1⃣9⃣5⃣ wickets
2⃣9⃣1⃣4⃣ runs
Countless memories ❤️#ThankYouMo 👏

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 27, 2021

Root and Silverwood applaud Moeen's contribution

England captain Joe Root and coach Silverwood praised Moeen's contribution to the team in Test matches. Moeen Ali's Test career spanned seven years during which he played 64 matches. He made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in the year 2014 at Lord's. Moeen scored a hundred in his second Test against Sri Lanka. 

Moeen Ali also had a chance to achieve the feat of taking 3000 runs and 200 wickets in Tests. Moin would have been the 15th player in the world to do so. However, he fell behind this record by 84 runs and five wickets.

England All rounder Moeen Ali decided to retire from Test cricket. In 64 matches, he scored 2914 runs and took 195 wickets including Hat trick.
will miss you mo. pic.twitter.com/a6qGyn5tk6

— Ayesha 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (@JoeRoot66Fan) September 27, 2021

Moeen's Test career

Moeen appeared for England in a total of 64 Test matches in his career. In 111 innings of 64 Test matches, Moeen scored 2914 runs at an average of 28.29. In which five centuries and 14 half-centuries are included. Moeen's best innings in Tests is 155 runs. One special thing is that Moeen has batted from number one to ninth during his Test career.

In bowling, Moeen took 195 wickets at an average of 36.66 and a strike rate of 60.79. He has achieved the feat of taking 5 wickets in an innings five times and taking ten wickets in Tests once. His best bowling figure in an innings is 6 wickets for 53 runs. Whereas his best bowling figure in the match is 10 wickets for 112 runs. Moeen is England's third most successful bowler after Graeme Swann and Derrick Underwood.