“I can bat anywhere from one to 11, really.” Yes, Moeen Ali is a bit of a captain’s dream except when he propels the odd long hop. He seems to be a wonderfully low-maintenance cricketer, phlegmatic, devoid of ego and eager to play whatever role is required of him.
At Cardiff on Monday he batted at No3 for England in the one-off Twenty20 international against Australia. He hit a vital career-best 72 not out; he bowled one over for just three runs during which Glenn Maxwell was dismissed, albeit with a significant helping hand from Ben Stokes on the long-on boundary.
Moeen was also deemed to be the man of the match. He is now a major, though hard to define, asset for England whatever the format. We know he is really a batting all-rounder yet with a red ball he has been employed as a bowling all-rounder, meandering out to bat at No8 in the Test side – a situation that is unlikely to last for much longer. In one-day cricket he usually bats higher.
He is even prepared to play down the adjustments required for his various roles. He finds a parallel between batting down the order against a red ball and at three against a white one. “In a way it is very similar because batting at eight in the situations I found myself, most of the time I was giving myself license and I tried to play as many shots as I could.”
Speaking after England’s T20 victory Moeen said that he does not yet know where he will be batting in the 50-over matches. “I did not even know I was going to play at Cardiff until the day before the match. So I don’t have a clue.”
But Moeen, who opened during the ill-fated World Cup campaign, is happy to express a preference. “I love opening but wherever the team wants me to bat, I will bat and if that’s three so be it. I have done that before so it is not a problem. I enjoy the newer, harder ball because I don’t have to hit it so hard. But I am happy at three, four, five or wherever.”
Moeen, it seems, is usually happy. In fact there must be a very good chance that he will be striding out alongside Alex Hales in the first ODI at the Rose Bowl on Thursday.
Moeen does not think that the Australians will be surprised by England’s change in outlook and fortunes since the World Cup. “They have obviously been watching us against New Zealand and the way we played then. It is actually very similar to the way Australia play. It is very aggressive and they play really tough and hard cricket; we are trying to do the same thing.”
Moeen did not appear in that New Zealand ODI series. The selectors wanted him to play some four-day cricket since he needed to bowl some overs with a red ball. He did not complain about that decision – which made some sense – but he acknowledges: “Watching at home I obviously wanted to play in it.” It somehow seems very unlikely that Moeen will miss out in any future ODI series unless the time comes for England’s most ubiquitous cricketer to have a rest.
He is too worldly wise and diplomatic to speculate where he might bat in England’s next Test series, against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. It has been suggested that he might become Alastair Cook’s latest partner, which would offer an interesting contrast in styles. Moeen merely reiterates: “I will bat anywhere. If it’s opening the batting, it’s opening the batting. If not then I’m still happy.”
Such selfless flexibility is rare among international cricketers, though if Moeen continues to excel it may be that other members of the team will have to start fitting in around him.
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