England Vs South Africa 2017: Moeen Ali Credits Saqlain Mushtaq For Bowling Brilliance
Apr 6, 2019 at 2:11 PM
On a day which witnessed the fall of 19 wickets, it was England’s ever reliable spin bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali who stood out. Beginning the day at a comforting position, England were rocked early by some brilliance from the South African pacers, with Morne Morkel especially getting in the groove. Despite a flurry of wickets, South Africa needed a daunting total of 331 on a track that was crumbling to a great extent.
The worst fears for South African fans emerged truly as a serious top order collapse wilted all hopes of a miracle win for the Proteas. But more than anything else, it was the bowling of Moeen Ali which decimated the Proteas. Once he dismissed Dean Elger, Ali went on an absolute rampage, making a mockery out of the South Africans with his disciplined off spin.
Having won the game by a fair margin of 212 runs, Moeen Ali was named the Man of the Match for his ten-wicket haul in the game and a priceless 87 in the first innings. Post the win, Ali credited England’s former spin consultant and all time spin great Saqlain Mushtaq, for his performance.
“Definitely the best all-round performance of my career,” said Ali. “Very happy today. Great wicket. Even in the first innings, I tried to attack the batsmen as much as I can. I learnt a lot from the India tour. I’d like to dedicate this to Saqlain. He helps a lot with my mindset when going into the bowl.”
“It’s more a mindset. This was a fresh start for me with the new captain. It’s a nice time to come in to bat at No. 7, the new ball is around the corner most of the time. You can play a few shots. Dawson bowled really well today. He was unlucky not to get more wickets. Today, things went my way. In the future, I’m sure things will go his way,” Ali said.