sport news Moeen Ali tells new England head coach Brendon McCullum he is willing to come ... trends now
Moeen Ali has told Brendon McCullum he is willing to come out of Test retirement to help England’s new head coach rebuild their red-ball fortunes – and he could be joined by his close friend and fellow spinner Adil Rashid.
McCullum wants to assemble a squad of cricketers to ‘dominate at the top’, and has singled out both men, along with Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone, as players who can lend strength in depth in all conditions to England’s Test squad.
Ali, who has taken 195 wickets with his off-breaks and scored 2,914 runs in 64 Tests, retired from the format in September, citing a lack of motivation. He also felt he was misused at times by former captain Joe Root. But The Mail on Sunday understands he has already spoken to McCullum about his future.
Moeen Ali retired from Test cricket due to a lack of motivation but he could return once again
A source said: ‘He respects Brendon immensely and would play for him. He’s always been committed to England and wishes to continue. He will assist when required.’
With England due to play three Tests in Pakistan this winter, McCullum – whose first task is to beat his compatriots New Zealand in a three-match series starting at Lord’s on Thursday – will want as many spin-bowling options as possible.
Ali may also come into the reckoning against South Africa in August. On their last visit here four years ago, he scored 252 runs and took 25 wickets at 15, including a hat-trick at The Oval.
When it was put to him that Ali had retired from Test cricket, McCullum replied: ‘We’ll see. I’m sure if Mo wanted to, and was prepared to put the yards in to make it back into the side, then he’d challenge, no doubt.’
Ali could be joined by close friend Adil Rashid (pictured), but his situation is more complicated
Leg-spinner Rashid’s situation is more complicated. Like Ali, he fell out of love with Test cricket during Root’s reign, and hasn’t played a first-class match of any kind – including for Yorkshire – since the Bridgetown Test of January 2019.
It doesn’t help that there are few chances coming up to prove he can still bowl long
