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As the Ashes 2023 came to a dramatic end on Day 5 of the Ashes Test, not just Stuart Broad but Moeen Ali bid goodbye to Test cricket. Ali who came out of retirement after Jack Leach got injured confirmed that he will not play Test cricket again. Ali had taken a U-turn after Stokes’ sent him a message about whether he will be willing to play for Ashes 2023.
Under Brendon McCullum, Ali was happy to make a comeback and made an impact in Ashes 2023 which ended in a 2-2 draw. He got injured during the series but did the job majorly with the ball in the absence of a speciallist spinner. After the 49-run win over Pat Cummins’ Australia, Stokes was asked in the post-match presentation whether he will ask Ali to play in the Test series against India. Stokes kept the option open as he said, “We'll let Moeen reflect on everything and make his decision about the India series”.
But Ali is in no mood to keep playing red-ball cricket as he said, “No, I know I'm done. If Stokes messages me again, I'm going to delete it. That's me done. I've had a great time but I know that's it for me.”
Ali took nine wickets from four games and even batted up the order after Ollie Pope injured his shoulder. The all-rounder reflected on the series and how he decided to make a comeback.
“I was taken aback when I got the message from Stokes, didn't know that Leach was injured but I really enjoyed it after coming into the series. I knew mentally it was going to be tough but I knew the toughest thing was going to be physical. Was an amazing series, I'll never forget. I thought it's going to be my last few Test matches so I'll do it for the team. I've batted at three before so it was great,” the 36-year-old said.
Ali talked about Stokes’ dropped catch at the gully which he dropped while celebrating. On the other hand, he lauded Jonny Bairstow for an exceptional catch to dismiss Mitchell Marsh.
“As soon as I saw it going into his hand I thought it was out but I was gutted when I saw it went down. I thought I'm never going to get Steve Smith out again. These things happen in Test cricket. Happy for Bairstow, he's done really well with the bat and gloves,” he said.
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