England all-rounder Moeen Ali won’t be taking part in the second Ashes 2023 Test match against Australia at Lord’s starting today onward. The development means that Ali’s U-turn from Test retirement only lasted for a solitary match before being interrupted by the team tinkering with a losing Playing XI in a bid to adjust better to the conditions on display for the match.
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Leaving out Ali from the Playing XI is the only change which the home team has made to its combination for this match. Pacer Josh Tongue, who had made his debut against Ireland at the same stadium earlier this month, has replaced Ali in the XI.
As a result, England will take the field without any specialist spin bowler in their squad despite adding rookie spinner Rehan Ahmed to their squad for this match.
Why Is Moeen Ali Not Playing Today vs Australia?
It is worth of a mention that Tongue has pinned down fellow more experienced pacers such as Mark Wood, Chris Woakes and Matthew Potts in finding a spot for himself in the Playing XI. Addressing the reporters on the eve of the match, England captain Ben Stokes admitted that they wanted to utilize Wood’s pace on a comparatively greener pitch at the Lord’s.
However, with the 33-year old player not being at his 100% in terms of availability, England opted to make the most of Tongue’s pace. The decision, however, has it in it to be surprising for many much like Tongue’s Test debut over more established bowlers.
“And we brought Tonguey [Josh Tongue] into the team as a like-for-like with Woody [Mark Wood]. We turned up here at Lord’s and saw there was quite a lot of grass on the wicket, a bit of green,” Stokes said on Tuesday.
Moeen Ali Blister
There is no going into a safe house from the fact that Ali had suffered a blister on his bowling finger during the first Test in Birmingham. Having not played a first-class match in 21 months, the off-spinner bowling 33 overs in the first innings was a tad bit too much of workload.
Ali, who trained with the English squad in the build-up to the second Test, could have also been left out due to an injury which is yet to heal completely. With former captain Joe Root bowling more overs than him in the second innings at Edgbaston, perhaps England didn’t want to risk playing Ali again.
“Traditionally, Lord’s has offered more for the seamers and with how Mo’s [Moeen Ali] finger was last week… we just thought we would get more out of our fourth bowler being Josh Tongue this week,” Stoked had added.
