Moeen Ali says he would not have come out of Test retirement to play in the Ashes for any other England captain than Ben Stokes.
Moeen answered England’s call after Jack Leach was ruled out of the series against Australia with a back injury.
Stokes’ pioneering style of captaincy has led England to 11 wins from their past 13 Tests.
“To be part of it is amazing. It’s such a big series and the guys have been playing exciting cricket,” said Moeen. A stress fracture in Leach’s back was revealed after England’s comprehensive win against Ireland at Lord’s earlier this month.
Off-spinner Moeen, who retired from Test cricket in September 2021, was contacted by Stokes before he heard about Leach’s injury.
“Stokesy messaged me with a question mark - ‘Ashes?’,” said Moeen. “I just said ‘LOL’, thinking he was taking the mick.
“The news came through and I had a chat with him. That was it.”
Moeen and Stokes were team-mates with Chennai Super Kings at the Indian Premier League in April and May.
“I’ve obviously spent a lot of time with Stokesy during the IPL,” said Warwickshire’s Moeen.
“He didn’t mention anything about coming out of retirement, it was just about the Ashes and how he was looking to take the team. He obviously watched me train out there and thinks I can bowl decently.”
Moeen has taken 195 wickets and scored 2,914 runs in 64 Tests.
Asked whether he would have come out of retirement for any other captain, Moeen said: “Probably not, no. It is a free hit. I’m not playing for my spot. There’s no pressure, really.
“I spoke to Baz [McCullum] and he said he’s not bothered about how I perform, which is quite nice.
“As an individual, I want to do well and contribute to winning games. All the things I ever wanted to do in Test cricket I’m going to try to do in these games.” (BBC Sports)