Bristol was buzzing with some of the hardest-hitting cricketers on Sunday (September 24) as England and West Indies were gearing up to lock horns in the third One-Day Internationals. With the likes of Chris Gayle, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales and Evin Lewis present for the match, a sell-out County Ground was perhaps expecting the fireworks from the players as mentioned above. However, it came from probably the unlikeliest of sources as Moeen Ali’s stunning assault took everyone present on the field by surprise.
While Moeen’s liking to play aggressive cricket is very well known, Sunday witnessed an entirely different facet of his batting as he took Jason Holder & Co. to the cleaners, slamming a 53-ball hundred that included an incredible eight sixes in the space of 14 balls to help England withstand a quickfire 94-runs knock from Chris Gayle to take an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
England were reeling at 217 for six at one stage before Ali’s knock guided them to a daunting 369 for 9. West Indies, led by Gayle’s knock, gave a spirited performance but were eventually all out for 245 in the 40th over.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Ali reflected on the highly successful summer where he contributed in all the formats. The all-rounder, who became the first player in history to score 250 runs and take 25 wickets in a four-Test series during the series against South Africa, admitted that recent performances will boost his confidence but did not sound complacent at all, making it clear that he is well aware of the tough times in the coming days,
“It’s been good for my confidence,” Moeen said. “I know there will be tough times ahead, and I try not to get too over-confident, but I’ve played quite a bit for England now, and the experience has allowed me to stay focused on what’s to come.
“Playing in the side regularly, training with international players and playing against international players, has helped my game so much, I feel my batting and bowling is improving all the time,” he added.
Speaking on the 117-run partnership with Chris Woakes after England were staring down the barrel after being reduced to 217 for 6, Moeen said:
“I felt Rooty and Stokesy did a fantastic job for us. I thought we were in a bit of trouble, then we lost those three wickets and we both had to rebuild a bit. But I felt like we got to a situation around 42 overs when we were in a decent position and it was time to press the button, but in the end [Woakes] was giving me one every ball because I felt like I was in the zone and everything was coming off.”
“As a kid [sixes] were a regular thing, but only playing first-class and international cricket, I never saw myself as that sort of player,” he added. “But the ground wasn’t the biggest and I felt like they bowled a little bit in the slot. I just had a slog really, everything seemed to come off, I tried to watch the ball, keep my shape and really go for it.”