Moeen Ali has made peace with his role in this England Test team, insisting it is time to stop hiding behind the tag of second spinner and accept he is No 1.
The 31-year-old all-rounder has long held ambitions to play as a batsman first, while England have also tried to ease the pressure on his bowling by selecting a another spinner in the side where possible.
While a final XI for Wednesday’s first Test against West Indies is yet to be decided, and a mottled pitch left to bake on Monday has been the subject of much debate, the Dukes ball is leaning England towards four seamers.
It would see Adil Rashid and Jack Leach miss out from Sri Lanka but Moeen, fresh from claiming 18 wickets in that 3-0 win, and having been set the goal by the spin coach Saqlain Mushtaq to bowl even better, feels ready.
Moeen said: “To be honest I’m not too fussed [about being the only spinner] any more. Before I was but now I just try and focus on myself. The three of us worked well together in Sri Lanka but if the responsibility was on me, I’d happily do it.
“I’d be fine with it. I can’t hide behind saying I’m the second spinner. I need to face it, deal with it. I’ve done it plenty of times before and I feel like I’m getting better.”
Moeen, who claims the Kensington Oval witnessed his worst bowling performance in an England shirt during the five-wicket defeat in 2015, averages 42 with the ball when on his own, compared to 31 with specialist support. It is a statistic that must be couched by the pitches which dictate such selections.
Indeed 55 Test caps into his career he appears as confident in his bowling now as he ever has been, such that despite a recent and aborted spell batting at No 3 his top-order batting ambitions now have been parked a touch.
Moeen said: “At this particular time, in this moment, I don’t have the patience. I have tried to bat longer and it doesn’t mean I can’t, but I feel more useful to the side coming in down the order. We need a proper No 3 in the Ashes and that’s more important.”
