The return of English all-rounder Moeen Ali to the Test team has been one of the most talked-about parts of the current Ashes 2023. After spinner Jack Leach broke a bone in his lower back, the 36-year-old was brought out of retirement and put back on the team. Ali came out of retirement and was put to work right away. In the first test, he bowled the most overs of any England bowler. He threw 33 overs and got two outs during that time.
But not being able to play red-ball cricket has made it clear that the all-rounder is not as good as he used to be. The 36-year-old had blisters on his fingers from bowling too much, and when he was seen putting a drying agent on one of his fingers, he was fined 25% of his match fee for breaking the ICC’s Code of Conduct. When Australian spinner Nathan Lyon saw what was going on with Ali, he went up to the all-rounder and told him that he felt bad for him.
“To be honest with you, it’s huge, and I feel bad for Moeen. After two years of not playing red-ball cricket, he was forced to bowl a lot of overs. Sportskeeda cited Nathan Lyon as saying, “The best way I can probably describe it, and it might sound weird, is that it’s like a singer losing their voice but still planning to go out and give a concert.”
Nathan Lyon also said that he knows what Ali is going through because it is hard for off-spinners to hold on to the ball, and he even said that it hurts.
“As finger spinners, it’s very hard to hold on to the ball, especially when we try to spin up the back of the ball by putting our fingers on the seam. That’s where spin, drop, and drift come from. So I have a lot of pity for him because I’ve been in his situation before and it’s very painful,” Lyon said.
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