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As England’s brilliantly inconsistent Ashes series continued with a pulsating eight-wicket victory in the third test match, one figure humbly played a straight bat to the theory that his feisty first innings knock was the pivotal moment of the encounter. Moeen Ali remains an enigma; and yet he has cemented himself as an integral part of this England side. In which capacity he excels the most, however, is still yet to be confirmed. His position as first choice spin bowler is still one that poses as many questions as problems it solves. Is he good enough to be his country’s premier tweaker? Does he turn the ball enough to be considered an international-standard spinner? Is there any other English spin bowler out there that could do a better job? Australia remain Ashes favourites , meaning England may need to answer these questions before the series concludes. The stats suggest that Ali is still finding his feet at international level. In 25 innings he has taken 42 wickets at a...

Sport is adept at finding positives among defeat and England’s One Day cricketers are masters of securing plucky losses against better opposition. Moeen Ali’s first ODI hundred and Ravi Bopara’s 65 gave supporters some hope for the rest of the long Sri Lankan series but with Alastair Cook and Eoin Morgan failing, there are evident problems regarding team selection. Nailing down a crucial slot Prior to these seven games in Sri Lanka, it had been widely assumed that Alex Hales would be the one to partner Cook at the top of the order and go on to become a key performer in the run in to the World Cup. In their warm up match with Sri Lanka A however, the selectors produced a surprise by including Moeen who hit six straight fours from the first six legitimate deliveries that he faced. From that moment, the Worcestershire player’s inclusion in the side for the first ODI in Colombo was assured and the decision was vindicated as the 27 year old went on to make 119 in quick time...