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Not sure this is the no-brainer some people thought it was... his record against australia is incredibly poor.
Edgbaston is not traditionally a great place for spinners, so not expecting him to go straight into the side for the first test. Think they might go with another seamer/all rounder and use Root if they do want a few overs of spin.
He is big enough not to care if he gets hit all over the place. Rather him than try and force Rehan to play and ruin him. Whoever plays is going to get set upon.
Leech is hardly a world beater anyway. Better to play Wood as the extra seamer
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Moeen into Ashes Squad on 09:06 - Jun 7 with 1286 views
I'm hoping we go with 4 seamers in the first test, Edgbaston is a lousy place for slower bowlers recently. However as a short-term option I do the sense in making the move.
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Moeen into Ashes Squad on 09:18 - Jun 7 with 1259 views
I thought Edgbaston was known for being one of the better pitches for spinners in England. Shane Warne used to always talk about it being his favourite place to bowl over here
Moeen into Ashes Squad on 09:18 - Jun 7 by wellsy700
I thought Edgbaston was known for being one of the better pitches for spinners in England. Shane Warne used to always talk about it being his favourite place to bowl over here
tho is fairness Warnes could get a cricket ball to spin off Liz Hurleys naked oiled arse
Tho games against Australia are played in England and Australia, two of the more generally spin-unfriendly environments in world cricket.
His batting style may suit "Bazball", big hitting rather than slow accumulation. Plus he has the big-game experience for those pressure situations. A lot of the alternatives don't have that, being either too raw/new to Test cricket, or not being more than tail-end batters.
No, but I think he's probably the best option to come in at the moment given his experience and the probable lack of experience amongst the seamers outside of Anderson and Broad and with Stokes having questions about his fitness to bowl.
It all looks a bit messy really, not helped by squeezing the series into the early Summer as one more casualty of the bloody Hundred.
Moeen into Ashes Squad on 09:31 - Jun 7 by Guthrum
Tho games against Australia are played in England and Australia, two of the more generally spin-unfriendly environments in world cricket.
His batting style may suit "Bazball", big hitting rather than slow accumulation. Plus he has the big-game experience for those pressure situations. A lot of the alternatives don't have that, being either too raw/new to Test cricket, or not being more than tail-end batters.
I hope that he opens instead of Crawley. That opens up a slot for Tongue as a "wildcard" fourth seamer, or Woakes, Wood or an Overton (delete as applicable depending on who is fit this week) as a safer bet.
The same team with Ali opening and Tongue as fourth seamer is significantly stronger than Crawley opening, Leach spinning and only three seamers. And Ali is a better fit as an aggressive opener than Crawley.
If we play 3 seamers at Edgbaston and one pulls a hamstring on Day One, we almost certainly lose the Test. It's not statistically likely, but it happens. It would be negligent management to allow the possibility, in my opinion.
Root is a good 6th bowler, but can't be expected to bowl and end for the bulk of a session, as is sometimes required. Ali and Root together certainly could, if necessary.
With Stokes (almost certainly) unable to bowl (many overs across a 5 match series) Ali opening is the neatest solution.
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Moeen into Ashes Squad on 12:09 - Jun 7 with 1012 views
Moeen into Ashes Squad on 11:20 - Jun 7 by ArnoldMoorhen
I hope that he opens instead of Crawley. That opens up a slot for Tongue as a "wildcard" fourth seamer, or Woakes, Wood or an Overton (delete as applicable depending on who is fit this week) as a safer bet.
The same team with Ali opening and Tongue as fourth seamer is significantly stronger than Crawley opening, Leach spinning and only three seamers. And Ali is a better fit as an aggressive opener than Crawley.
If we play 3 seamers at Edgbaston and one pulls a hamstring on Day One, we almost certainly lose the Test. It's not statistically likely, but it happens. It would be negligent management to allow the possibility, in my opinion.
Root is a good 6th bowler, but can't be expected to bowl and end for the bulk of a session, as is sometimes required. Ali and Root together certainly could, if necessary.
With Stokes (almost certainly) unable to bowl (many overs across a 5 match series) Ali opening is the neatest solution.
Moeen has in the past been perturbed as to exactly what his role in the Test team is. He was really a batsman who could bowl a bit, but found himself down the order & he became England's #1 spin bowler largely by default. I would hope Stokes & McCallum will make it clear what's expected from him & then we might get the best out of him. I don't see him as a Test opener & I'm sure England will stick with Crawley for the first couple of Tests, despite his obvious flaws.
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