Moeen Ali says he’s not concerned by the loss of his England Test contract and believes it could be beneficial in the long-run. The ECB revealed on Friday who had been offered a central contract for the next cycle, which starts on 1 October, and all-rounder Ali’s name was a notable omission.
The 32-year-old decided to take a break from the longest format of the game after the first Ashes Test this summer, Alli having scored just four runs while recording match figures of 3-172. It looks like that might be the last of his 58 Test caps that he receives for a while but the World Cup winner is happy to focus on the one-day game for now.
The Worcestershire ace has been handed a white ball central contract by the ECB having impressed in the shorter formats of the game this summer, helping his county reach the T20 Blasts Finals Day. Ali says it might not be a bad thing to be out of Test cricket for a while but hasn’t ruled out answering the call if selected for November’s tour of New Zealand.
“It was the ECB’s call and obviously you are always a little bit disappointed but I’m not too down about it,” Ali exclusively told Sky Sports News. “It is very intense and personally I just want a break from it so I’m pretty chilled.
“This winter I think I will sit back and take myself out of it a bit; relax, refresh and get back to enjoying batting as much as I can. “Depending on how I feel I might be ready to come back straight for or after the New Zealand tour….I’ve not really discussed it too much and I’m just taking my time.”
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