The success that Moeen Ali has had as an off spinner so far in his test career, he himself would be surprised by that.
He was picked in the test team for the first time primarily for his batting. The selectors knew that he would bowl a bit of off spin and would allow the captain to rotate the pacers around him for a little while, but, that was not the reason behind his selection.
Since, he was good enough to bat at the no. 6 position, he got the nod and in his very first test series against Sri Lanka, he got a fabulous hundred.
But, ever since, the contributions with the bat have been minimal. It’s the ball with which Moeen has rocked the opposition sides.
He has won England test matches as a bowler. Yes, as a bowler.
It can’t be a fluke. Flukes do not keep happening for such a long time.
When he got wickets against India at Southampton, he was considered ‘just lucky’. But, he repeated it at Manchester and then, at Oval, thrice in a row.
Still, not many gave the credit. It’s because of the arrogance of the Indian batsmen that he’s succeeding; that’s what people felt. Continue reading “Moeen Ali has had as an off spinner so far in his test career”
