Moeen Ali continues to impress

Australia were handed in a heavy defeat

Stephen Fry once compared The Ashes to an opera, describing how each Test match was like a single, dramatic act in the storytelling extravaganza that is a cricketing summer. Mental toughness is as much a prerequisite for succeeding in the face of hostility as are cricketing ability and physical endurance. Going into any sporting contest, the last thing you would want is a question mark over your place in the side or constant media speculation about how you would be ‘targeted’ by the opposition.

Moeen Ali had to go through both, and it is to his credit that he responded immensely in the first Test to silence his doubters.

At home against New Zealand in the lead up to The Ashes, the second Test, played in front of a lively crowd at Headingley, was a disaster as Ali flopped with the bat and proved expensive with the ball, as New Zealand fought back to level the series.

Hardly the thing to put him in the right frame of mind, but the ODI series against the Kiwis that followed saw Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid produce a virtuoso display with the ball and a couple of hard hitting cameos with the bat, which led to some calls for installing him as England’s spinner of choice against the Aussies.

Aussies fell right into his trap

The pitch at Cardiff, on the very first day, did not look particularly helpful - for anyone. Confidence is low, Rashid breathing down his neck, the Australian ‘spin experts’ (as fans of EA Sports’ Cricket 07 may fondly recall) licking their lips, constant talk of being ‘targeted’, no hope, nothing.

Come the fourth morning, with Australia set a target of 412 to chase, and suddenly all we hear is “Advantage England” and “Ali will be crucial”!

Proof, as ever, that this sport can turn on a sixpence. That the very bad suddenly becomes the very good. That what looked beyond saving, was now within reach. That what was a depressing low was now an unadulterated high.

And it happened so quickly, so dramatically. Joe Root set the precedent with smashing hundred, but when Ali walked in at 293-6 in the first innings, England were relying on him to give a much-needed boost for a decent total.  Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Ask and you shall receive.

What followed had England aficionados purring with delight. The Aussie bowlers were promptly blasted for 77 runs from 88 balls, with posting the highest strike rate of the match in the process. He was the penultimate dismissal, sent back to the pavilion with the scoreboard now reading 419-9. The damage had well and truly been done.

For most players, their job would be done. Not Ali.

‘Attack Moeen’ was seemingly the mantra for the Aussies, and they decided to follow through with it but it backfired – and how. Ali’s two wickets in Australia’s first innings came with a heavy dosage of irony.

Heavily tipped as his conquerors before The Ashes, given that they’re ‘good against spin’, Moeen Ali proceeded to dispose of Steve Smith and Michael Clarke with nary greater than a flick of his finger. The ‘attack Moeen’ plan played right into his hands - quite literally.

The latter dismissal, that of Clarke, was delightful to watch – a metaphorical jab in the ribs, an egregiously cheeky ‘take that’ to the Australian captain which was pouched by Ali himself. Thank you very much! Smith’s dismissal no doubt induced groans of frustration among Australian fans as he foolishly scampered down the track like a pixie only to see his careless swipe grabbed at and held tight by Alistair Cook.

Australia’s second innings, especially the post lunch session, was simply a slow death for them as England’s seamers came at them hard but it was Ali’s manipulation by Cook that caught the eye. While James Anderson and Stuart Broad will deservedly take credit for a rip-roaring bowling performance overall, Ali provided a couple of crucial breakthroughs as well.

His approach in the second innings was interesting; bowling noticeably fuller than before, Ali conceded 22 runs from his first two overs, but it was his reintroduction just before lunch that was critical.

Pitched full, the ball straightened out slightly and caught David Warner leg before, just when, at 52, he was threatening to amass a big score. Jos Buttler’s enthusiastic appeal told us everything. It’s back to the pavilion with you, Mr. Warner!

Even as the faster bowlers took control after lunch and absolutely ran riot, Ali came back on, and with his first ball, dismissed Brad Haddin (with the help of a solid catch by his captain), thus snapping the last recognised pair at the crease. The game was beyond Australia by that point, but this was an exclamation point on what had already been a very strong team performance by England.

As the fielders came in closer and closer, like a ravenous pack of wolves circling a wounded animal, waiting to ruthlessly put the Aussies out of commission if they gave an inch, finally, fittingly, Moeen Ali delivered the killer blow, ably assisted along the way by the mightily impressive Joe Root.

Moeen Ali is hardly a Shane Warne of yore. Hey, he probably isn’t even a present day Shane Warne! The maverick, Sheikh-of-Tweak he may not be, but he certainly demonstrated his potential worth to England; a dependable, if unspectacular, rotation option (pun mildly intended) – the perfect foil to the likes of Anderson and Broad. Heaven knows a good cricket team needs this type of player.

Ali has given both himself and England a much needed dose of confidence, especially given some of the lows in 2015 – the exit from the World Cup, the failure to clinch series wins against an eminently beatable West Indies side and against New Zealand at home.

They should certainly feel that now, with a 1-0 lead in their hands, they can wrest The Ashes from Australia’s grasp and get some revenge for a 5-0 humiliation in the last Australian summer.