< 1 minute read With their feisty batting in the morning and a pair of wickets each, Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad truly delivered non-captains’ performances. This is what good team members do. They set an example for the captain to follow. It’s like they always say: he who leads the leader slightly reduces
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At least Moeen Ali made 99 not out
< 1 minute read Imagine that today is exactly like today only Moeen Ali made a duck. There, you see – things could be slightly worse. This isn’t so much a ‘glass half full’ attitude as a ‘there’s still something in there, I’m sure – maybe if I tip the glass the right way
Continue readingSeven things we learned from England v Pakistan
2 minute read We’ve been trying to provide some sort of pithy and insightful summary of the Test series for 24 hours now, but it’s not really happening. We’ll instead content ourself with a vague collage of observations. If these are our workings-out, maybe you can provide the conclusion yourself. Specialists and
Continue readingThe beard that smeared – Moeen Ali enjoys the evening session
2 minute read Smeared with exquisite timing and grace, we should say. It was poetic smearage. Smearage without breaking sweat. Smearage that involved all moving parts working in perfect harmony to pan the ball to the fence. Morning session It’ll be interesting to read the reports about this morning’s play. Was Alex Hales
Continue readingShould England persist with Moeen Ali?
< 1 minute read It’s not how, it’s how many. That’s what they say of run-scoring. Does the same apply to wicket-taking? Moeen Ali is actually England’s second-highest wicket-taker in this Pakistan series. He has taken seven wickets at 32.28, which is eminently respectable. He has also conceded near enough five runs an over,
Continue readingTurns out we’re really rather delighted that Moeen Ali made a daddy hundred
< 1 minute read A daddy hundred’s anything over 150, right? Sounds about right. Graham Gooch should get in touch to correct us if we’re wrong. Sometimes it’s not entirely obvious how you feel about a player until you’ve seen what they’ve done without actually watching it happen. We were out all day and
Continue readingThey’re playing Hashim Amla’s song
< 1 minute read During Sunday’s play, the England and South Africa supporters did a duet, trading verses of their respective Moeen Ali/Hashim Amla songs which both employ the tune of No Limits by 2 Unlimited. It was really rather entertaining – although they persisted for so long that we can still hear it
Continue readingHotwiring Jonny Bairstow
< 1 minute read Despite recent media coverage, Alex Hales is not actually in competition with Moeen Ali. He is, we’d guess, competing with Jonny Bairstow. Alastair Cook wants plenty of bowlers in 40 degree heat which means Adil Rashid will finally get to play a Test in the UAE. In which case who
Continue readingCameron Boyce fails to purchase sourdough
2 minute read Do you know how far it is from Australia to England? Miles. Absolutely bloody miles. Do you know how long it takes to complete the trip? Ages. Absolutely bloody ages. Cameron Boyce flew from Australia to England for this match. He bowled one over. It went for 19. He didn’t
Continue readingMoeen Ali likes to feel bat on ball
< 1 minute read Or, in English, he likes to hit the ball. It always strikes us that ‘feel bat on ball’ sounds altogether too sensual for something that’s actually quite percussive and violent. After all, you wouldn’t say about a drunken brawler: ‘He loves the feel of fist on face and the sensation
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