Moeen Ali retires in England – selflessness was his greatest asset

Moeen Ali has confirmed his international retirement at the age of 37, ending a career in which he won 308 international caps across all formats, including 68 in Tests.

The retirement comes as no surprise. Having already retired from Test cricket, Moeen has been left out of this month’s T20 series against Australia as England look to build a new white-ball team ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup and 2027 ODI World Cup. But it confirms the end of a glittering international career.

Moeen will go on to play for cricket franchises around the world, where his combination of powerful left-handed hitting and off-spin strokes makes him a highly sought-after player. He hopes to one day become a coach.

“I could go on and try to play for England again, but I know realistically I won’t,” Moeen told the Daily Mail. “I felt the time was right. I did my bit.”

Moeen was one of six players to have featured in both the 2019 ODI World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup. In the T20 World Cup victory over Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Moeen was vice-captain.

In addition to his pivotal role in England’s white-ball teams, Moeen has also featured in 68 Test matches, including all five games when England regained the Ashes in 2015. Following Jack Leach’s injury, Moeen made a spectacular return for last summer’s Ashes, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

Selflessness was Moeen Ali’s greatest asset – and his greatest curse

Selflessness was Moeen Ali’s greatest asset as an international cricketer. It made him one of England’s most beloved modern cricketers. Yet when it came to racking up statistics that showcased his talents, that selflessness was his greatest curse.

His final Test series, in the 2023 Ashes, summed up his career. Initially selected as an all-rounder at No. 8, Moeen volunteered to bat at No. 3 in the middle of the third Test, to allow Harry Brook to fall back on his preferred role at No. 5. Once again, Moeen sacrificed his personal needs for the good of the team.

Opener, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6, No. 7, No. 8 and even No. 9: Moeen has beaten them all in his batting career. While he was at his best as a middle-order batsman, he agreed to play opener against Pakistan in the UAE in 2015. He has batted at No. 8 in 22 Test matches, a position many considered too low to maximise his batting talent.

At a time when private schools operate as ultra-professionalised academies, Moeen’s career has been a triumph of individual talent, coming from inner-city Birmingham. He has embraced his status as a Muslim role model and done far more to inspire a new generation of cricketers than dozens of English administrators.

Before being selected for Tests, Moeen was primarily a batsman in county cricket. Five Test centuries – two each against India and Sri Lanka and one against Pakistan – and a final Test average of 28.12 did not adequately reflect his abilities. Yet while his batting talent was such that Moeen will feel he should have averaged around 35, his 204 Test wickets, at an average of 37.31, reflect the way he developed his off spin for England’s needs. Only two spinners – Derek Underwood and Graeme Swann – have taken more Test wickets for England.

It was not in Moeen’s nature to be a containment bowler. But his drift, spin and bounce could combine to produce shots that could baffle the world’s best: Virat Kohli, whom Moeen dismissed six times in Tests, could attest to that.

Moeen has been voted player of the match six times in Test cricket, reflecting his delight in producing match-winning performances in the fourth innings of matches. It is a burden many spinners have not relished. Yet Moeen has taken 63 wickets at just 23.2 in the fourth innings of Tests – including a hat-trick against South Africa at The Oval in 2017 and helped England to victories against India in Southampton in 2014 and 2018.

The Ashes have rarely seen Moeen at his best; he finished with a batting average of 25.2 and a bowling average of 60.6 against Australia. He still ended his Test career with a crucial role in the win over Australia, taking three for 76 in the final match of last year’s Ashes at The Oval. It was perhaps a glimpse of how he might have flourished had the Bazball regime arrived earlier in his career.