After England’s World Cup campaign is finished so, almost certainly, will Moeen Ali’s one-day international career. Aged 36, he has no realistic chance of making the 2027 World Cup. Instead, after next summer’s T20 World Cup, he is poised to go into the modern cricketer’s golden sunset: life as a freelance player.
How many more ODIs Moeen will feature in before then is unclear. Much of the focus upon England’s team has centred on their balance – whether they adopt a structure of four two seamers and three spinners, or prefer three of each. Against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, England opted for the 3-3 structure.
England didn’t just appear notably light on seam options. The lack of seamers also prevented England from making best use of the pace bowlers that they had. Rather than being saved for the middle overs, Mark Wood leaked 27 runs in two overs in the Powerplay. His blistering pace can be a disadvantage when only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle.
Perhaps more than any other ground in the World Cup, Dharamsala, where England take on Bangladesh on Oct 10, is renowned for favouring seam. The beautiful stadium, which peers up into the Himalayas, is 1,500 above sea level: the cool conditions make bowling quick less taxing, while the altitude is thought to help swing too. The dew will also mean that there is moisture in the wicket to exploit for whoever bowls first. As such, England were always likely to pick a four-pronged seam attack here.
But the nature of the defeat to New Zealand crystallised the sense that, in all bar extreme spinning conditions, England are simply a better side when selecting four seamers. Once New Zealand had survived the new-ball burst for the sole loss of Will Young, England appeared bereft of threat. After Chris Woakes failed to replicate Matt Henry’s success hammering away back of a length England were left reliant on Wood’s pace and their spinners. In his first competitive game since July, Wood leaked 55 from five overs; England’s spin trio of Moeen, Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone returned combined figures of 0-131 from 19.2 overs.
Moeen was the best of them; indeed, his economy – while a hardly frugal 6.42 an over – was actually the best of any of England’s six bowlers. In his last ODI before the World Cup, Moeen took 4-50 against New Zealand, with his bowling appearing near its best. Though he only made 11 in Ahmedabad, Moeen’s promotion to number five was another reminder of his versatility; his ability to attack spin, and left-handedness, will be particularly valuable if Ben Stokes is ruled out against Bangladesh. The absence of Stokes would also heighten Moeen’s worth in another way. As vice-captain, Moeen provides essential consul to Jos Buttler.
Omitting Moeen, then, would be a significant decision. But if England are to switch to a 4-2 balance of seam and spin, then Moeen is effectively in competition with Livingstone.
Moeen’s skills are particularly well-suited to Bangladesh, with their array of left-handers for him to bowl at and slow left-armers for him to attack: a combination that might yet see him retained. Yet Joe Root’s off spin means that, even without Moeen, England still have a very serviceable off spinner. And Livingstone has far more recent batting pedigree than Moeen: he has enjoyed consecutive outstanding IPL campaign with the bat. In two innings in the series against New Zealand, Livingstone hit more half-centuries than Moeen has in six years and 72 ODIs.
Indeed, Moeen’s headline numbers in ODIs are strikingly underwhelming. In 133 games, he averages 24.68 with the bat and 48.33 with the ball. These numbers are also trending the wrong way: since the end of the 2019 World Cup, Moeen averages 21.95 with the bat and 47 with the ball.
The basketball player Shane Battier was once called ‘The no-stats All Star’: a testament to his ability to help teams win, even while his personal statistics were uninspiring. England have long thought something similar of Moeen in ODI cricket: that he is a player whose worth is not conveyed by traditional statistics.
His curiously poor batting average reflects the demands of batting at seven: a position that demands selflessness. Fifteen men have scored 1,000 ODI runs at number seven; Moeen has the third best strike rate of the group, 101. And so while Moeen would have had far more impressive numbers had he batted higher up more – indeed, he averaged 31.3 as an opener – England’s view has been that batting him lower down serves the team’s needs best. Similarly, he has bowled during the Powerplay on occasion: not a role recommended for a conventional off spinner concerned about their economy rate.
It has never been in Moeen’s nature to complain about such treatment. To his teammates, Moeen’s worth transcends his numbers. Rather than batting and bowling averages, England’s win percentage in ODIs that Moeen plays – 61%, betted by only 7 of the other 57 men to win 50 caps – is an altogether better gauge of his worth.
With England in need of tinkering their balance and Livingstone’s greater heft batting in the final overs, Moeen is now at risk of a familiar plight: being dropped, through little fault of his own, after a tactical reshuffle midway through a World Cup. In a curious sense it would embody an international career in which Moeen’s needs have always been subservient to England’s.
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