Moeen Ali injury might pave way for 20-year-old Mason Crane’s Ashes debut

After a disappointing start to the Ashes opener, the England team will aim to go all guns blazing at the hosts to recover from the loss and stronghold their claim on the urn. However, the Lions’ preparation suffered another setback after Moeen Ali sustained a cut to his index finger. The England squad has been cursed with injuries even before the start of the tour and now it’s growing into a pressing concern.

The English all-rounder incurred the injury on his right-hand midway through the first Test in Brisbane and has not bowled since arriving in Adelaide. However, his injury can now be a boon in disguise for the 20-year-old legspinner, Mason Crane. The youngster could as well be making his Ashes debut in the historic day-night second Test starting on December 2 as concerns grow on the fitness of their key all-rounder, Moeen Ali. Ali’s future is most likely going to be determined on Friday’s training session.

Skipper Joe Root speaks about Moeen Ali’s future

Speaking about the matter, skipper Joe Root was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz, “We’ll have to look at the situation with Moeen and see how bad it is, look at the conditions, but it’s definitely not out of the questions. With Moeen’s finger, I think the decision was to give it an extra day of trying to rest it and make sure it’s as ready as it can be.”

He added, “We’ll have another look at things after practice and see how he is then and see if there’s any more damage to it and we’ll have to make a decision from there. It would be wrong to look too closely into it without knowing the full details. At the end of practice, we’ll have a clear indication of whether he’ll be fit to bowl throughout the next game.”