Moeen Ali to opt for a break from Tests after being omitted from ECB's red-ball contract

Moeen Ali was part of England’s ICC World Cup-winning squad but the all-rounder has not had a very good season after that. Even in the mega event, he played in only a few matches, while was dropped from the England Test team after the first Ashes Test against Australia in Birmingham, where he picked three wickets and made four runs.

He was handed a further blow when the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced its central contracts for the upcoming 2019/20 season. Moeen Ali received a white-ball contract but was omitted from the red-ball deal, which was announced on Friday at Lord’s by England’s director of cricket, Ashley Giles. Ali is part of England’s plans for the upcoming World T20 2020 in Australia.

Ali may miss red-ball series against South Africa and New Zealand

This is the first time since 2014-15, when Moeen Ali made his England debut, that he has been omitted from the upper tier of the ECB contract list- a run that reflects the amount of international cricket, 186 matches in all formats, that he had been playing in the preceding five years. He has therefore requested a break from Test cricket which means he will miss England’s two Tests in New Zealand in November and the red-ball leg of the South Africa tour in December and January.

” “I do feel I need a break from the longer format but not a massive one. We will see what happens after the New Zealand series. This could be just what I need. It’s disappointing to miss out on a central contract but I’m also pretty chilled about it. Cricket has never been about the money for me. I have always relied on my faith and believe that everything will work out fine,” Ali was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

“I’m not ruling out playing Test cricket in the future. I’ve had long chats and thought about it quite a lot. I just want to give myself a bit of time to refresh my batteries and see where it goes after that,” Ali further said.

Ali has played 60 Tests, making 2,782 runs with 5 centuries and picking 181 wickets, while has scored 1766 runs in 101 ODIs and taken 84 wickets as well. He has a hat-trick in Tests for England, but 2019 has been hard on Worcestershire all-rounder.

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