England all-rounder Moeen Ali offers update on extending Test career post Ashes

England all-rounder Moeen Ali is done with Test cricket. Again. The all-rounder, who had come out of retirement to play in the Ashes after being asked by skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, says, "If Stokesy messages me again, I'm going to delete it."

Interestingly, Ali's return to Test cricket started with Stokes texting him: 'Ashes?' after England's first-choice spinner Jack Leach suffered an injury prior to the series. With the series over at 2-2, Ali told McCullum, who asked him if he'd consider playing in Indiain early 2024: "That's me done."

"They knew from the start," Moeen said, laughing. "Especially when those India venues came out! Baz (McCullum) asked me again when I had my day off on the second day (in final Test). I said no. I'm not going [to India]. There's no way I'm going. That's me done. It's nice to finish like this and be part of an amazing day."

While Moeen's comeback series didn't go as well as he'd have liked, the all-rounder says it's 'great to finish like this (at 2-2).'

"Test cricket is the best cricket," Moeen said. "I wish I could rewind time. Although my career has been a bit up and down, I wouldn't change it. I've loved it. I would have regretted it later in life. It was quite daunting, because I've never done well against Australia."

"I still don't believe I've done that well, but it was great to finish like this. It was daunting, but I had nothing to lose, it was a free hit. I had a call from Baz and Stokesy, I felt like I was bowling alright, but the finger was the only issue. I wasn't worried about the bowling."

Notably, Moeen didn't play in the second Ashes Test due to the finger injury. He, however, took three wickets in Australia's second innings during the final Test to help England win. Moeen was crucial to break Australia's rhythm on day 5 at the Oval despite suffering groin injury in the match as England secured series-leveling 49-run win.

Ali finished the match series with 180 runs and nine wickets in four matches.

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