Moeen Ali will end his career thinking he could have got more Test runs: Nasser Hussain

Since making his return to Test cricket, Moeen Ali couldn't make much of an impact in the ongoing Ashes 2023. However, in the fourth Test of the series in Manchester, the veteran stepped up and built a solid 121-run partnership with Zak Crawley, which put the visiting team under tremendous pressure. Ali took some time to settle down, but once he did, he looked brilliant and hit 54 runs, which proved to be really important from England’s batting perspective.

Meanwhile, talking about his batting abilities, former England skipper Nasser Hussain mentioned that Moeen Ali will regret not scoring more Test runs in his career. He believes that the cricketer is still hungry to score runs and enjoys the challenge to bat at number three in place of Ollie Pope, who is currently dealing with a shoulder injury.

“I think we forget what a good young batter Moeen was. Anyone watching a young Moeen growing up would say, ‘This lad can bat.’ That is the reason he has said he wants to bat at No. 3. He will end his career thinking he could have got more Test runs for the ability he has got. He wants to go out there and show the world again that he is a proper, proper batter,” Hussain said while talking to Sky Sports.

“I think Brook is a great player and will be a great player. I just personally feel like five is great for him, and the impact he can have at five is much more than what he can probably do at three at the moment. I’m not saying he won’t be a good No. 3, I just feel right now for the team, it’s probably best that I go three. I do enjoy batting three, the challenge of batting three. I think for the team right now, it’s the best thing,” he added.

Notably, England posted 384 runs on Day 2 and finished the day's play with a 67-run lead. They will aim to put further pressure on Day 3 and bring the series to level terms.