England Cricket
Root: Moeen Ali will be a huge loss for England
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Moeen Ali's retirement from Test cricket was a "big loss" to England, according to Joe Root, who lamented that the off-spinning all-rounder did not always get the acclaim he deserved outside the squad.
Moeen Ali announced the conclusion of an extraordinary Test career that spanned seven years and 64 appearances, during which he amassed 2,914 runs at an average of 28.29 and 195 wickets at a strike rate of 36.66.
Moeen Ali, a 2015 Ashes winner who took a hat-trick against South Africa in 2017 and had five five-fors and as many hundreds, is the only spinner to have taken more wickets for England than Derek Underwood and Graeme Swann.
“It goes without saying that Mo’s career speaks for itself and what he has achieved, he’s done some wonderful things in Test cricket and he’s been one of the great guys to play alongside. He’ll be a huge loss. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sharing that dressing room with him and we’ve had so many wonderful memories, on the field and off the field,” said Root.
“At times he has been underappreciated, not within the dressing room but outside of that. He’s a great personality to have in and around the dressing room, and he’s a great brain for younger players to learn from and to feed off,”
“But more than anything I just want to wish him well for everything he has got coming up and the rest of his career because he’s still going to go on and achieve so many great things, I’m certain of it” he added.
Moeen was the leading wicket-taker in the world in the 12 months leading up to the 2019 Ashes but match figures of three for 172 and just four runs with the bat in the first Test at Edgbaston led to him being dropped.