Moeen Ali keen for Test return and determined to make most of remainder of international career

NICK FRIEND: The off-spinning allrounder was speaking from the national side’s Cape Town base, where England are isolating ahead of the start of two white-ball series against South Africa

After a difficult spell in his England career, Moeen Ali believes he has rediscovered the necessary “mental space” to thrive in international cricket, including the Test arena.

The off-spinning allrounder was speaking from the national side’s Cape Town base, where they are isolating ahead of the start of two white-ball series against South Africa.

For Moeen, now 33 and a veteran of exactly 200 appearances at international level, the upcoming month represents what he hopes will be the start of a new dawn.

He admitted that in the last 18 months, he struggled at times for the same hunger as during his early days, when he was seeking to establish himself as an England cricketer. This period, by his own reflection, has coincided with a significant loss of form; since the beginning of 2019, he has averaged just 15.36 with the bat in ODIs and 114.9 with the ball.

“There have been glimpses here and there but I know deep down that I haven’t done well over a period of time,” he explained.

“It’s my job to really go out and perform. It’s more a mental thing – I need to get into a mental space, which I feel like I’ve been working on for the last four or five months. It's been difficult. But it's about clearing everything out and starting afresh.”

Like anyone who has watched him at his best, Moeen has “never had any doubts” that he remains able to return to the levels that have seen him hit eight international hundreds – including the third-fastest by an Englishman in 50-over cricket.

In 2019, he found himself dropped from England’s World Cup side midway through the tournament, before losing his place as England’s Test spinner after a poor display in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston. He has not played Test cricket since. That came after a tough Ashes tour the previous year, where he took just five wickets.

^{Moeen has not played Test cricket since last year's Ashes series}

“In Australia last time, it was very difficult,” he recalled. “I actually went there on the back of probably the best form I’ve been in for England. I think it was just after the South Africa series. I went there not overconfident, but I went quite confident. I put the work in, but I probably didn’t do the planning as much as I should have or could have done. I feel like I can definitely do much better than I did out there.

“And then in England, I was bowling quite well in Test cricket in that year and I took quite a few wickets, and obviously I had one game which didn’t go to plan – it was just a bad game, and obviously I haven’t played since then and I got dropped after that, which happens. I still feel like I’ve got a lot to give in Test cricket and there’s a lot of things I want to achieve in Test cricket.

“I think I was hungrier when I was younger. I think everyone is hungrier when they are trying to play Test cricket [for the first time]. I guess a year and a half ago I definitely lost a lot of that hunger. But over the last six months I feel like it is coming back and I want to play Test cricket and play as much as I can.

“I've not played for a while now and, having spent time with the family and thought about my game, if the call did come, I'd be quite keen to be on it. I've not retired or anything. It was just to take a step back from a format of the game.”

That is all now in the past, though. “From a personal point, to be honest, I’m over these things now,” he insisted. “It’s time to move forward. I think I dwelled on that for too long – getting dropped from the Ashes and then the World Cup and that kind of stuff. But over the last four months, I’ve been trying to think about moving forward and get over that.

“Even though I was dropped from them, they were still successful times. I think for me, it’s about moving forward now and trying to enjoy whatever time I have left playing cricket.

“My priority is to try get my game to the level I know I can get it. There's so much cricket and so much success to have. There's an opportunity there to be one of the greatest sides ever and be part of that. That's something I want to do. It's such an exciting time moving forward. For me, right now, to play as much cricket as I can and do the best I can. I can give my all in the next couple of years to try and be part of this.”

And while that begins with this tour of South Africa, Moeen is already looking ahead to a landmark return to Pakistan a year from now. It will be England’s first visit for 16 years – a whistle-stop, four-day trip ahead of the T20 World Cup in India, marking the end of a lengthy hiatus is “massive”. Moeen represented Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League earlier this year – a competition he describes as “an amazing experience”.

^{Moeen Ali captained England in a T20I against Australia during the summer}

“I’m sure Pakistan will go all out to host that [tour]. We can’t wait to go there in the future; I think it’s a massive moment for cricket going forward.”

Did England owe Pakistan for their courage in touring during the height of the coronavirus crisis this summer?

“The teams that came over – West Indies and Pakistan – were amazing,” he said. “To have gone through the whole bubble – obviously after the coronavirus cricket was on the edge. They helped massively with that.

“I think it was probably going to happen anyway, but it’s right that we go back after such a long time – one, for the game itself, but also for Pakistan and the cricket in that country.”

Before then, Pakistan are due to tour England next summer for six ODI and T20I matches. Sri Lanka and India are also scheduled to visit as part of a jampacked international summer which, most interestingly, features a ticketing ballot and a plan to play at nine different venues nationwide – a hint that a return to normality is in the ECB’s planning.

“I think the most important thing for us is to play in front of the fans,” Moeen explained. “It’s huge. You realise how much you miss them when they’re not there – that extra motivation that they give you when you’re playing.

“In terms of going up and down the country and going to all the grounds, it’s obviously better than being in a bubble. If the fans can come in by next year, it would be amazing.”