Ashes 2023: Moeen Ali collects OBE for 'outstanding contributions to cricket'
Moeen Ali is set to make his first Test appearance in the Ashes opener after almost two years.
England all-rounder Moeen Ali was awarded the OBE for his services to cricket. Ali received the prestigious award at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, just two days before the Ashes. The 35-year-old has been recalled to the England Test squad for the Test series against Australia. A report published by ESPNcricinfo revealed that Moeen Ali had to cancel a family holiday in order to make himself available for the Ashes. Ali, however, had to miss Wednesday's training session at Edgbaston to collect his OBE.
Moeen Ali is set to make his first Test appearance in the Ashes opener after almost two years. England Test skipper Ben Stokes called Ali to make a comeback to red-ball cricket after spinner Jack Leach was ruled out of the Ashes due to injury. “The fact that it is The Ashes and it is such a big series, to be part of it would be amazing. The exciting cricket the guys have been playing, it's an era I would have loved when I was playing [before]. I am a guy who goes with the flow. At the moment it's just these two games, so let's see what happens,” the England all-rounder was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
The official Twitter handle of England cricket shared a photo of Moeen Ali collecting his OBE. “moBE. Moeen Ali received his OBE from Windsor Castle for his outstanding contributions to cricket,” the tweet read.
Moeen Ali’s Test Career
In Tests, Moeen Ali has so far represented England in 64 matches. He has 2,914 runs to his name in this format, with five centuries and 14 half centuries. Ali also has 195 wickets at an average of 36.66. In red-ball cricket, he was last seen in action against India in September 2021 at The Oval. After England’s Test series against India in September 2021, Ali had announced his retirement from this format. He has not played a first-class match since retiring from Test cricket.
Ashes 2023
England, under the captaincy of Ben Stokes, will now be aiming to win the prestigious Ashes for the first time since 2015. The first Test between England and Australia is scheduled to start from today at Edgbaston. In the last Ashes, the Aussies had decimated England by a margin of 4-0.