Moeen Ali has acknowledged that England may well have to play this winter’s Ashes series without Ben Stokes but believes Joe Root’s tourists can still win the series without their inspirational all-rounder.
England would clearly be a weaker team in Stokes’s absence but Moeen, the man of the series for the one-day internationals against West Indies, responded positively when asked about the chances of retaining the Ashes in the wake of last week’s incident outside a nightclub in Bristol.
“I definitely feel we can still win‚” said Moeen. “Otherwise there’s no point going out there. If he [Stokes] is not there we are going to have to play well. We all know how good a cricketer he is and what he can bring to the table. He’s one of the main players we have and it would be great to have him out there. But we’ll see what happens.” If Stokes is absent then Moeen and Jonny Bairstow, who have been mighty effective all-rounders in the middle order in recent series, must assume even more responsibility. In Moeen’s case this would mean batting at six or seven rather than eight. He would not shy away from such elevation. “The higher up I bat the better‚” he said. “I’m used to No8 at the moment but if I get told to bat at seven I feel capable of doing well there [Moeen has flourished there in the past]. It doesn’t really matter where. I’m going to go out to Australia with a fresh mindset, hopefully winning the series and coming home with the little urn.” It would be a surprise if Moeen expressed an alternative view, but his sense of excitement with the Brisbane Test seven weeks away was palpable. “I genuinely can’t wait. I’m very, very excited. When you are a young player you’re thinking you’d love to be on that tour. I never thought I would be and to be going, I’m very fortunate.” Whether or not Stokes travels to Australia, the routine of touring there will undergo a significant change after the events of the past week. On Saturday, it became apparent that Andrew Strauss had offered “encouragement” to his players not to embark upon a stag weekend for Jos Buttler in Amsterdam.
