#360View: Moeen vital for England in UAE

Ajit Vijaykumar 14:03 16/09/2015
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  • Moeen Ali is a versatile batsman & an extra option for bowling.

    England may have won the Ashes series by a margin of 3-2 but the team management would be the first to admit that the scoreline could so very easily have been different.

    While Alastair Cook’s team won successive Tests on raging seamers in Birmingham and Nottingham, they failed to come even close to the Aussies on the flat tracks of Lord’s and the Oval.

    Those two def-eats are of significance as England prepare for what will definitely be a testing series against Pakistan.

    As the England selectors sat down this week to select the side that will tour the UAE, they had to take some tough calls.

    The main area for concern was the opener’s position with not one player a certainty to partner captain Cook at the top of the order. Adam Lyth had already been tested and failed miserably during the Ashes.

    Limited over specialist Alex Hales was considered a shoo-in before he fell flat during the one-day series against Australia and that raised the hopes of other players on the fringe – like Nick Compton. But the management decided to gives Hales a go, following his good showing in the County Championship where he averaged 52 this summer. 

    However, that doesn’t mean the issues at the top of the order are sorted. Gary Ballance doesn’t find his name on the list and that means England are a bit thin on genuine top order batsmen. If an Ian Bell or a Joe Root fails, the pressure on the rest will be immense. 

    It’s because of this uncertainty in the batting order that the presence of Moeen Ali in the squad assumes great significance.

    The genial all-rounder has proved his worth over and over again, with the ball and bat. His off-spinners are definitely of Test quality and he showed during the Ashes that he can wield the willow with class.

    Ali is on a personal high at the moment, dazzling in Tests (463 runs and 23 wickets from nine matches) and ODIs (363 runs and 17 wickets from 15 games) in 2015. He has the ability to bat up or down the order and given his versatility, provides England the option to pack in an extra batsman or bowler, if the need arises.

    As the Englishmen prepare for a tough assignment in October, they must push Ali to the forefront and not use him only in a support role, as they did during the Ashes.

    Ali can have a lot more impact with the bat and ball on wickets in the UAE that are conducive to spin and England must formulate their strategies around the 28-year-old. Apart from Ali, another player who will be in the spotlight is Ian Bell. He has been off the boil since the start of 2014, averaging less than 35 and 25 in two years. 

    The presence of the in-form James Taylor will serve as a reminder to Bell that England won’t wait for an eternity for the Warwickshire batsman to find his touch.

    This is not the strongest England side in recent memory. But it has some solid players who can turn the match on its head in one session – like Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes.

    Plus, they will be in a positive frame of mind having won the Ashes against a fancied Australian side. If Cook and the rest of the batsmen can clear their minds and play risk-free cricket against a decent Pakistan attack, then their bowlers can come into the picture and look to erase the horrific memories of the last tour when they were blanked 3-0.

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