Moeen Ali retires: His 5 best moments in international cricket
Moeen Ali called time on his illustrious international career on Sunday (September 8). His retirement comes after he was overlooked for the white-ball series against Australia this month.
Moeen has played 68 Tests, 138 ODIs and 92 T20Is, scoring 6678 runs and taking 366 wickets across formats. The all-rounder last featured for England at the T20 World Cup 2024, contributing 71 runs and three wickets in eight appearances.
The 37-year-old intends to continue playing franchise cricket and has an interest in taking up coaching in the future. He represented the Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred 2024 and scored 150 runs in nine innings.
On that note, let's take a look at the five best moments of Moeen Ali's 10-year international career.
1) Registering his finest Test knock of 155* against Sri Lanka
In May 2016, England met Sri Lanka in the second game of a three-match Test series against Chester-le-Street.
Batting first, the home team got off to a good start, with 80s from Alex Hales and Joe Root. Coming at No. 7. Moeen Ali displayed a strong showing to continue the team's momentum.
The left-hander clobbered 155 off 207, with 17 fours and two sixes, and helped the team to declare on a mammoth total of 498/9.
In response, Sri Lanka were all out for 101. After being asked to follow on, the visitors posted 475 to set up a target of 79. Skipper Alastair Cook (47*) top-scored for England to seal a nine-wicket win.
2) Helping England win Ashes 2015 with all-round performances
The Ashes 2015 witnessed England secure an impressive 3-2 victory at home. Moeen Ali delivered a all-round performance, scoring 293 runs and taking 12 wickets in five games.
His finest performances came in the first fixture of the series, where he slammed 77 and picked up best match figures of 5-130.
3) Taking a Test hat-trick against South Africa in 2017
Moeen Ali secured a memorable hat-trick in the third game of a four-match Test series against South Africa at The Oval in July 2017. Interestingly, it was the first hat-trick at the venue and the first by an England spinner in 79 years.
Batting first, England compiled 353, with Ben Stokes scoring a century. In response, the Proteas were bundled out for 175. England declared on 313-8 to set up a target of 492 for the opposition.
Although, South Africa were under pressure at 50-4, Dean Elgar's century helped them get back on track. However, Moeen broke Elgar's resistance by getting him caught at slip by Stokes for 136.
The crafty spinner replicated the same dismissal with Kagiso Rabada and followed up by trapping Morne Morkel LBW with his flipper. With that, he completed a hat-trick and helped England bundle out South Africa for 252.
Moeen was the finest bowler in the series with 25 wickets at an average of 15.64. He also scored over 250 runs at an average of 36.
4) Claiming a 10-fer against South Africa
In July 2017, Moeen Ali claimed his first and only 10-fer in the longest format against South Africa in Lord's.
England batted first and made 458, with Joe Root slamming 190. Thereafter, South Africa could only manage 361, with Moeen finishing with figures of 4-59.
England were all for 233 in the second innings, resulting in South Africa needing 331 to win the game. Moeen rose to the occasion by picking 6-53 and helping the side bowl out South Africa for 119 and win by 211 runs.
5) Winning the 2019 and 2022 World Cups
Moeen Ali was a part of England side that secured the 2019 ODI World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup titles.
At the 2019 World Cup, Moeen contributed 75 runs and took five wickets in five games. Meanwhile, he garnered 57 runs in five innings at the 2022 T20 World Cup.