Moeen Ali, the England all-rounder, is expected to return to Test cricket under new head coach Brendon McCullum.
After the Manchester Test between England and India was postponed in September of last year, the 34-year-old announced his retirement from the oldest format. Moeen questioned his ability to focus in the game’s longest format and chose to extend his career in white-ball formats (ODIs and T20Is).
Moeen Ali Ready To Return To England Test Side
According to reports, Moeen Ali has informed England’s new head coach, Brendon McCullum, that he is willing to come out of Test retirement to assist England’s new head coach in rebuilding their red-ball fortunes.
Not only Moeen, but McCullum has hinted that he would like to bring back Jos Buttler and leg-spinner Adil Rashid to the Test side, while also implying that Liam Livingstone is in talks. McCullum, who has always had an aggressive mindset, whether while playing or during his first coaching stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders, believes that if a player can dominate in one format, there is no reason why he can’t do so in another.
“Jos is one of those players you look at instantly and think how could he be so dominant in one form of the game and not quite have found his feet, other than a few fleeting performances, in Test cricket? There’s no reason why, if you’re good at T20, you can’t bring those skills into Test cricket,“ McCullum said.
“I’m sure if Mo [Moeen Ali] wanted to [play Test cricket] and was prepared to put the yards in to make it back into the side then he’d challenge, no doubt. Livingstone, Moeen, Rashid. All these guys have played international cricket before, been successful in the other forms of the game and you’d think they’d be able to transition across, but we’ll see,” McCullum added.
England will host New Zealand for three Test matches in early June, with the first starting on June 2 at Lord’s.
