‘Ye sab Dhoni ke under khelne ka natija hai’ – Fans react as Ben Stokes backs Moeen Ali to produce match-winning performance in Ashes 2023

England Test skipper Ben Stokes has backed Moeen Ali to produce match-winning performances in the upcoming Ashes series against Australia. England are all set to take on the World Test Champions Australia for the much-awaited Test series starting on June 16th. The England skipper has prioritised a ‘positive mindset’ ahead of the big series.

Stokes has shown his commitment to building a formidable squad after he took a significant decision to bring Moeen Ali out of retirement. Notably, the spin-allrounder decided to take retirement from Test cricket at the end of 2021 English summer. However, he reversed his decision after a discussion with the skipper, coach Brendon McCullum and Managing Director Rob Key. Stokes believes that Moeen could bring an positive impact in the squad ahead of the Ashes.

“He (Moeen) is a player who can produce unbelievable match-winning performances, albeit a long time ago (in tests), and it was something I couldn’t look past,” said Stokes as quoted in India Today.

“That was a stomach and a heart feeling rather than my brain. I’ve generally stuck with my gut and my heart throughout my whole captaincy so far. Moeen Ali is going to come in here and I’m looking at what he can offer to this team on his best days and not worrying about anything else,” he further added.

‘I have got myself in a real good place to be able to bowl,” – Stokes

It seems like Stokes has been fully fit for the Ashes after sustaining an knee injury during IPL 2023. He was seen bowling at full intensity that also helped him to boost his confidence. The all-rounder expressed his satisfaction with the progress and said that he is in excellent position to bowl in the Ashes.

“I have bowled every day so far and been able to run in with more intensity, day by day. I have got myself in a real good place to be able to bowl. But (bowling coach) David Saker has obviously come in and he mentioned something to me last week when we were in Scotland. He said if you are still bowling by the fourth and fifth test, we have done something right. I think I’ll give 100 percent of what I’ve got all the time,” the England skipper said.