Moeen Ali Ashes recall torched by England great amid Ben Stokes truth

Moeen Ali has revealed the one-word text from England captain Ben Stokes behind his bombshell decision to come out of Test retirement for England in the Ashes. Moeen will play his first red-ball cricket match in almost two years in Friday's Ashes opener at Edgbaston, in a move that has come under fire from former England opener, Mark Butcher.

The all-rounder comes into the side to replace regular spinner Jack Leach, was ruled out of the entire series with a stress fracture in his back. Moeen revealed that it was a one-word text message from Stokes that sparked his shock retirement backflip, with the 35-year-old admitting he thought the England captain was joking at first.

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“Stokesy messaged me with a question mark — ‘Ashes?’,” Moeen told reporters at Edgbaston. “I hadn’t heard the news on Leachy at the time so I just said ‘LOL’, thinking he’s taking the mick. Then the news came through and I had a chat with him. That was it.”

Stokes, who spent the best part of two months with Moeen at Chennai Super Kings in the IPL this year, set the wheels in motion for the comeback, with Moeen's stunning recall confirmed days later. When asked if any other captain could have convincedd him to return to the Test fold, Moeen said: “Probably not, no."

“His mindset is very different to other captains I’ve had previously. I’m not saying they are bad captains, but the way the game is going and the way they have been playing, he is the kind of guy you want to play for. Having spent a lot of time with him in the IPL, just talking to him, he is different.”

Former England star lashes Moeen Ali recall

While the all-rounder's England Test return has dominated debate in the lead-up to the first Test, one man who is less than thrilled by it is Butcher. The 71-Test former Ashes star said he was "baffled" by Moeen's recall for England, taking aim at his unconvincing record against Australia in Test cricket.

“There’s a lot of hoping going on … Jack Leach, is a holding bowler for Ben Stokes right? Moeen Ali has never been a holding bowler in his entire career and has not played any red-ball cricket for two years,” Butcher said on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast. "His Ashes record is pretty bad with bat and with the ball, and he has had no interest in playing long-form cricket ever since his retirement.

“It’s not like you’re bringing Michael Jordan out of retirement, is it? You’re not bringing somebody back who had a Botham’s Ashes in ’81, you’re bringing back someone who’s kind of done okay at times, and those times were a very long time ago.”

Moeen Ali admits he's no Jack Leach

While Moeen has answered the England SOS to be Leach's replacement, he admits he's not going to be able to fulfil the fellow-spinner's exact role in the team. England have used Leach to great effect in the past year with the tweaker sending down the bulk of overs, taking the load off James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Mark Wood.

He did so with a handy economy rate of 3.33, with more than 20 per cent of his overs being maidens. It's a role the more aggressive Moeen concedes he has never played and which is unlikely to change in this series.

"I am sure they know what they will get out of me, it's not going to be a lot of maidens," Moeen said. "I've never been able to hold an end up. When I have, it's when I have been taking wickets.

"That's the only time I have been able to build any pressure. Ben and Baz know that. I know I go for runs but he knows there are also some wicket-taking deliveries in between, which is all he cares about."

Moeen's record against Australia is meek - 20 wickets at 60.55. He has fared slightly better in England against Australia but has still leaked 4.33 an over against the tourists and fully expects to be targeted by Australia's batters.

"100 per cent, if I was them I would do the same," he added. "I think any spinner who came in would be the same. I am not expecting them to defend me. I am expecting them to come after me, which could be dangerous. Because Stokesy likes his field up, so I could go for a lot of runs."

with agencies

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