In the fifth and final Test of a closely contested series at The Oval, off-spinning all-arounder Moeen took three wickets as England defeated Australia by 49 runs. As a result, the five-match series was tied at 2-2. The 35-year-old, who announced his retirement from Test cricket at the end of the 2021 summer, has changed his mind after speaking with Test captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum in the wake of Jack Leach’s stress fracture of the back, ruling him out of the five-match Ashes Test series.
At the beginning of the series, he also mentioned that the skipper had texted him with the question “Ashes?” to which he had responded “Lol”, before agreeing to come back.
“I’m sure I’m done. I’ll delete any messages Stokesy sends me in the future. It’s great to end on a high, and I’ve enjoyed it, Stokes said to Cricket Live Score. “It was wonderful to return. I was a little surprised when Stokesy messaged me, but once I said yes, I was totally into it. Playing for Stokesy and Baz (England coach Brendon McCullum) has been an incredible experience that I have loved and will never forget. I’m so happy I said yes”, he continued.
The off-spin all-rounder scored 180 runs in four Tests, including a half-century at Emirates Old Trafford within a week of requesting to be promoted to No. 3, and claimed nine wickets in the 2023 Ashes despite missing the Lord’s Test due to a finger injury. He was only the 16th Test cricketer to achieve the dual milestones of 3,000 runs and 200 wickets by the end of the Ashes series.
English