England allrounder Moeen Ali has had the stars aligning perfectly for him since the past few days or so. From winning an Indian Premier League title with Chennai Super Kings to a U-Turn from Test retirement, or receiving the OBE honour, Ali is indeed enjoying a memorable period in his life. If these weren’t it, the ‘Moeen Ali Chant’ from the Edgbaston crowd during the ongoing first Ashes 2023 Test has definitely got him all smiling in absolute joy.
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It all began on Day 2 when Australia were batting for the first time in the series. Soon after having scored yet another Test half-century, Travis Head (50) was dismissed by Ali. As if the crowd was waiting for this moment anxiously, chants of ‘Moeen Ali, Moeen Ali’ in unison reverberated across the stadium.
The crowd was up for some more fun, and Ali did not disappoint them either as he went right through the defence of Cameron Green (38) during the afternoon session.
Moeen Ali Chant
The fans’ energy got surely intensified, given the manner in which Green’s stumps were dismantled. The Moeen Ali chant resumed with a different musical note this time around, one which also finds a place in the website of England’s Barmy Army as well.
No points for guessing, it was the ever-famous Eric Hollies stand which immersed itself in the groove of what should be termed a fan song. Earlier on Day 1, the spectators at this very stand had harshly rebuked and trolled the Aussie off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
As he was being belted for some runs during the afternoon session, the crowd jeered the 35-year-old using the words -“You’re just a sh*t Moeen Ali”.
MOEEN GETS HEAD 😍😍😍#Ashes pic.twitter.com/LpLKUb34uW
— England’s Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) June 17, 2023
MOEEN MOEEN ALI 💪
He gets Cam Green 🏴#Ashes pic.twitter.com/hpyFFrQF8Y
— England’s Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) June 17, 2023
The Moeen Ali Chant From Cape Town in 2016
The aforementioned Moeen Ali song post the fall of Green’s wicket was first composed by the Barmy Army during a 2016 Test match between England and South Africa in Cape Town.
With Ben Stokes having scored a double century and England marching on towards a huge first innings total, the Barmy Army decided to have some fun with the former Proteas batter Hashim Amla by singing the very ‘Moeen Ali song’.
The fun part was the Moeen Ali chants naturally transitioning to Hashim Amla chants as the latter was fielding near the boundary rope. No points for guessing, the song had everything to with the fact that both Amla and Moeen are practicing Muslims are look quite similar while sporting their long beard.
Although the video footage is not available, the Barmy Army had arrived with their first Moeen Ali song during Ashes 2015, the lyrics of which went like, “Moeen, Moeen, Moeen, Moeeeen, I’m begging of you please don’t shave your beard!.”
