England all-rounder Moeen Ali is set to announce his retirement from Test cricket to focus more on white-ball cricket. According to the report in Espncricinfo, the left-handed batsman is keen to extend his career in white-ball format and is also expected to continue to play county and franchise cricket. The 34-year-old was recently seen in red-ball cricket during the five-match Test series against India. The reports also stated that Moeen Ali has already informed about his call to England Test captain Joe Root and coach Chris Silverwood.
Moeen Ali’s Test records
Moeen Ali made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at The Lord’s in 2014. Since then, the 34-year-old has scored 2,914 runs in 64 Tests at an average of 28.29 and taken 195 wickets. He has five centuries and 14 half-centuries to his name in Test cricket. Ali also has five five-wicket hauls, and a solitary 10-wicket haul in the longest format of the game.
Ali also took a hat-trick against South Africa in 2017 – the first hat-trick for an England spinner since 1938-39. In his last Test against India, Moeen stood up as England’s vice-captain in Jos Buttler’s absence at the Kia Oval. According to ESPNcricinfo, nobody else in the top 25 wicket-takers in England’s history has an average as high as Moeen’s 36.66.
Had the final Test match against India took place at Manchester, Moeen Ali could have become just the 15th player in Test history to score 3,000 career runs and claim 200 wickets. He ended up with 84 runs and five wickets short of the landmark. The Birmingham-born player will finish his Test career as the third most successful English spinner behind Derek Underwood and Graeme Swann. If not the greatest, Moeen Ali was surely one of the best All-rounder to play for England in Test Cricket.
