Moeen Ali has lauded England’s fighting spirit after the hosts’ remarkable batting performance on the penultimate day of the second Test against West Indies at Headingley.
After being on the back foot for almost the first three days of the match, England began day four with just two-run lead and three of its batsmen already back in the pavilion. However, Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes scored half-centuries, as England posted its highest-ever total without a batsman scoring century to take a firm grip on the game.
The hosts declared their innings on 490 for eight, setting West Indies an improbable target of 322 on the final day. The visitors need 317 runs more to level the series, as they finished the day on five for no loss.
“We showed fantastic fight with the bat and to have that lead is gold,” said Moeen. “We wanted a lead of around 180 so to have this one is fantastic. They’ve bowled quite well in this game, and we wanted to counter in the last session, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Half-centuries from Root, Malan and Stokes had put England into a commanding position, but it was all undone after Roston Chase took three wickets in quick succession to leave the home side reeling at 327 for seven with a lead of 158.
However, Woakes and Moeen not only brought back England into the game but also put them in a commanding position by adding 117 runs for the eighth wicket in just 23 overs and after tea, Moeen was particularly aggressive, scoring 84 off just 93 balls while Woakes made 61 off 104 balls.
“I felt quite good before Tea and me and Woaksey felt we’d just try and build that lead because the more it goes up the more their heads would go down,” Moeen said. “We felt like they were a little bit tired as well and the work that the boys put in earlier was brilliant for us to counter. The plan worked beautifully.”
When asked about the plans he had when he came out to bat, Moeen said:
“I sometimes go out there and think: ‘I’m not going to score any runs here’. But today’s situation was one I have been in before, trying to hit boundaries and play in a carefree fashion. I put myself in the shoes of the fielding side and think what they don’t want – somebody to come out and hit boundaries, almost see the ball, hit the ball to try and take the momentum away.”
With England needing all the ten wickets on the final day to win the match as well as the series, Moeen will have to play a vital role on the fifth-day pitch, and the off-spinner is looking forward to it. The 30-year-old was instrumental with the ball during the series against South Africa, and the hosts will hope he replicates those performances against West Indies too.
“I am looking forward to bowling and hopefully getting some wickets,” Moeen said. “There has been spin throughout the game. When I was batting, I was thinking about getting more runs to give me more to play with when I bowled and not have that extra pressure.”