At 37, Moeen Ali still a force to reckon with

Moeen said he doesn’t have the skill as other bowlers but his job was to contain as much as he can

HYDERABAD: At 37, former England off-spinning all-rounder Moeen Ali is still a force to reckon with even in a T-20 format!

Moeen, who claimed two for 23 for his new franchisee Kolkata Knight Riders against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL league game in Guwahati on Wednesday night, said he doesn’t have the skill as other bowlers but his job was to contain as much as he can.

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“I think my skill is that I think like a batter. So a lot of the time I’m trying to think what they think and it works in my favour,” Moeen informed the media after the match.

“I’ve been practising well and I just try to be ready all the time,” Moeen said. “I got told this morning that Sunny [Narine] was not well and to just be ready whenever. Obviously, hard to replace Sunny but I felt like I did a nice job of it,” he said.

Moeen also agreed that the spin-friendly pitch was a pleasant change from high-scoring ones, with the first five games of the season breaking all run-rate and six-hitting records.

“When the wicket is like this, you’re not going to get 300,” he said. “You probably won’t even get 200, and it’s great to have these games in between those big games.

“It’s just learning and trying to get better even at 37 years old,” he said. “KKR is a very, very balanced side. The overseas players are amazing, with Sunny and Russ [Andre Russell]. Quinny [Quinton de Kock ] is always guaranteed to play and it’s very difficult to get in but it is how it is in good teams,” Moeen said.

“I came on before him [Varun], so my job was to try to bowl as tight as I can. And then maybe he can build a bit of pressure as well or get the wicket,” Moeen said in the post-match press conference. “I’m used to bowling with somebody who is better than me and has more mystery than me, so my job there is to bowl as tight as I can and hopefully that builds pressure for that person to then get wickets.

“Retired from international cricket, yeah, but I still play a lot of leagues and I still try to stay on top of my game because I still want to play for as long as I can and do well,” Moeen concluded.