The message flashing on Moeen Ali바카라s mobile phone was simple and to the point.
Ali has been back in England since the IPL and playing again for his home county, Warwickshire, which plays its games at Edgbaston 바카라 the venue for the first Test.
The message flashing on Moeen Ali바카라s mobile phone was simple and to the point.
바카라Ashes?바카라
It came from England captain Ben Stokes, who had just learnt that his premier spinner 바카라 Jack Leach 바카라 was likely to miss the entire test series against Australia because of a back injury and was on the look-out for a replacement.
Ali바카라s first response? 바카라LOL.바카라
The news of Leach바카라s absence was quickly confirmed so Ali thought about it, and realized how much fun it would be to play for England again given the team바카라s new-found attacking approach under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.
This was also the Ashes, he said to himself, the biggest test series in cricket.
So Ali decided to come out of test retirement and could be thrown straight into England바카라s team for the first match at Edgbaston on Friday.
There he was on Tuesday, back in his test match whites and facing the glare of the English media. Like he does on the field, he adopted a relaxed approach.
바카라I spoke to Stokesy about how he talks to the batters and he says it will be perfect for the way (I) play,바카라 Ali said. 바카라There are no question marks over any shots that you play, which gives me the license to play a few more rash shots, I guess.
바카라Even with the ball, just speaking to him, he is more on the aggressive side. I know I go for runs and all that kind of stuff but he knows there바카라s also wicket-taking deliveries in between, which is all he cares about, really.바카라
And that바카라s the message that appears to have been sent to Ali.
Don바카라t change.
바카라I바카라ve never been able to hold an end up,바카라 Ali said of his spin bowling. 바카라When I have, it바카라s when I바카라ve been taking wickets 바카라 it바카라s the only time I have been able to build any sort of pressure. And I know Ben and Baz (McCullum) know that. You want to take wickets all the time but doesn바카라t mean it바카라s going to happen.
바카라But there might be times where I need to build a bit of pressure and stuff, and play the game that바카라s in front of me. I바카라m sure they know what they are going to get from me.바카라
Ali quit test cricket in September 2021 to focus on the shorter formats, having played 67 tests for England and scored 2,914 runs, as well as taking 195 wickets. A couple of statistical milestones are in reach, then, for the 35-year-old Ali, who doesn바카라t know how long he바카라ll continue to play the longer format.
After all, rewind to 2019 when he was dropped after the first test of the Ashes series, and didn바카라t return.
바카라Was that four years ago? Really? Seems like yesterday,바카라 he said. 바카라I have forgotten about those things. I바카라ve moved on now. It바카라s a bit of a fresh start and we see how we go.
바카라I바카라m a kind of guy who바카라s a bit, 바카라Go with the flow.바카라 At the moment, it바카라s just these (first) two games. Let바카라s play these games and see what happens.바카라
Ali comes into the Ashes in good spirits having just won the Indian Premier League with Chennai Super Kings, where he was alongside Stokes, who barely played because of injuries.
바카라We spoke at the IPL and he didn바카라t mention anything about coming out of retirement,바카라 Ali said. 바카라It was more just about the Ashes and how he was looking to take the team.
바카라Obviously then there was Leachy바카라s injury. He (Stokes) had watched me train and he still thinks I can bowl decently.바카라
Ali has been back in England since the IPL and playing again for his home county, Warwickshire, which plays its games at Edgbaston 바카라 the venue for the first Test. He has been captaining its Twenty20 team, the Birmingham Bears, too.
The Ashes is a completely different world, though, and Australia coach Andrew McDonald has said Leach바카라s absence and Ali바카라s return represents a 바카라challenge바카라 for England.
바카라Mo hasn바카라t played a red-ball game for an extended period of time,바카라 McDonald said. 바카라No doubt he바카라ll be prepared 바카라 he바카라s had a couple of weeks바카라 notice.
바카라But I think Jack Leach really complemented that attack, and his wicket-taking ability and the way Ben Stokes has used him has been a little more aggressive and has reaped some great reward.바카라
McDonald said England바카라s attack will 바카라look different.바카라
바카라Mo has 190-odd test wickets as well (and) strengthens their lower order, so it won바카라t be the same but they바카라ll have to operate fractionally differently 바카라 no doubt about that.바카라