Moeen Ali ‘not bothered’ by England’s rotating opening partnership

Rory Dollard 03:01 14/01/2015
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Confident: Moeen Ali said he will play aggressively in the tri-series and World Cup.

    England opener Moeen Ali is clear about his role at the top of the order, despite the team’s revolving door selection policy.

    – Match fitness is key for Cricket World Cup
    – Selectors keep faith in Clarke but hand him fitness deadline

    Moeen has played just 12 One-Day Internationals but appears to be inked in at the head of the innings for this month’s tri-series against Australia and India, as well as the subsequent World Cup.

    In his brief ODI career Moeen has already had three different partners – Michael Lumb, Alex Hales and Alastair Cook – and is due to make it four when he and Ian Bell take on Australia in Sydney on Friday.

    With former captain Cook dropped from the squad before Christmas, England are short on time to bed in the Moeen/Bell partnership.

    The pair put on 76 against a mod­est ACT XI in their first outing on tour, with Bell dropped on four, but they will face a more serious exami­nation by a strong Prime Minister’s XI today.

    It might seem like danger­ously last minute preparation but Moeen is content with the situa­tion.

    “I wouldn’t say it’s difficult to change partners. I just go and play how I need to play on that particu­lar day,” the 27-year-old said, fresh from hitting a 38-ball 50 against the ACT side.

    “I’m not bothered one bit. At the moment I’m very happy and I’m just glad I’m opening and enjoy­ing myself. I’ve batted with Belly quite a bit. When I first started out at Warwickshire he was there and I enjoy batting with him.

    “He’s quite busy, he’s very good at getting singles as well as the bound­ary shots and is a classy player so I really enjoy batting with him and hopefully we will be a good combi­nation together. I think our styles will complement each other.”

    While Hales made his name as a Twenty20 power-hitter, Bell is more of an accumulator, a fact that places the attacking emphasis on Moeen in the coming weeks.

    Luckily for England, it is a bur­den the left-handed batsman is more than happy to shoulder.

    “Aggressively is probably the only way I can play in one-day cricket,” Ali said. “I feel it’s the best way for me to play and if I’ve got any doubt I just tell myself to go hard and not go into a little shell. If we are going to win the World Cup and be a suc­cessful one-day side we will need good starts.

    “We need guys in the top three who can set the standards for eve­ryone else and be expansive and take some risks. In Sri Lanka I got bowled first ball having a slog. It’s not nice to get out first ball but I’d prefer to get out having a go rather than just blocking it.”

    Meanwhile, Kevin Pietersen is convinced England’s new ODI cap­tain Eoin Morgan “would love” to have him back in his World Cup team.

    Pietersen, in conversation with Ricky Ponting during the Big Bash T20 commentary, is encour­aged that England’s switch of cap­tain – Alastair Cook dropped in favour of Morgan – means that at least one senior voice will now be speaking in his favour.

    “I know that the current captain would love to have me in the Eng­land team,” he said. “I don’t see why (I couldn’t play again). If I get the opportunity to play for England… I’m 34 years of age, Kumar San­gakkara is 38 and has just scored a double hundred. I honestly believe I’m batting as well as I’ve ever bat­ted. Given half an opportunity to go and play the way I’m playing at the moment, of course I would.” 

    Recommended