If Stokesy messages me again, I’m going to delete it. That’s me done: Moeen Ali

Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali. (Photo Source: Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

After plenty of nail-biting cricket through the English summer, the intense battles between England and Australia finally drew curtains. While there are plenty of notable performances to talk about but there is one thing which has always been most crucial when it comes to Test cricket. Reason? Their importance in an exciting side like the English team especially on a Day 4 or 5 surfaces.

Consequently, speaking of the grand showdown at The Oval on Monday, July 31, the hosts were able to stop the Aussies from clinching a clear edge over them as the series concluded with a 2-2 result. However, the visitors were still able to retain the urn. But nobody can deny the importance of a spinner like Moeen Ali, who made his comeback to Test format for England in a rather dramatic fashion. While the series did not start well for the veteran, as he split the web off his fingers.

However, Ali took a three-wicket haul in the fifth Ashes 2023 Test when it mattered most, to help his side clinch a sensational 49-run victory on the final day. With this, the veteran spinner believes that he has bowed out on a high with the 68th Test being his last game for England. Notably, skipper of the home side, Ben Stokes, has sent an emergency text to the all-rounder after Jack Leach got ruled out with a lower back stress fracture which paved the way for Ali’s shocking return. The veteran off-spinner had last played the red-ball cricket back in September 2021.