Moeen Ali lauds the current English side as one of the best

English all-rounder Moeen Ali has been an integral part of the national setup over the last couple of years. Ali, who had primarily started off as a batsman, has evolved as an off-spinner. He has been bowling well and chipping in with crucial overs. If there has been a team that has seen a massive overhaul since the ICC World Cup 2015, then it has been the England team.

England had a disappointing time in the World Cup 2015 and were knocked out before the knockouts. Since then, they have shown a whole new attitude altogether. They have been tagged as the most expressive unit. Speaking about the same to the Sunday Times, Moeen Ali noted that the team needed a big change. It was not a theoretical one but more of practical application.

“It needed a drastic change. I was pretty new to the set-up, didn’t say much in team meetings and just tried to apply the way we were going about things, which seemed to be the way we had always gone about things,” quoted Moeen Ali.

Morgan deserves the credit

Ali had a special mention for the English skipper Eoin Morgan for coming up with this new idea of playing a brash and brutal form of cricket. He noted that it is better to get caught out on the boundary than just continue blocking the deliveries. Also, the players feel that they have the backing of the captain when Morgan is leading the national side.

“Morgs came up with the idea that we would take the positive option and not be afraid. Sometimes you would play a big shot, get out, and have your head down in the changing-room, embarrassed, but he’d be like, ‘No, no, that’s the best way’. He’d rather we got out caught on the boundary than blocking. One thing we all know is that you get backed in this team,” quoted the all-rounder.

“The attitude of ‘Hit the Lights Out’ is his. He wants us to entertain people and have people love watching us play. We want people to remember us for winning trophies and I want to look back and think I was part of the Eoin Morgan side. I’m sure the others think the same,” he added further.

Change in mindset

Talking about the things that have changed in the current lineup compared to the one that played a couple of years ago is the mindset. He noted that the team deserves to be tagged as the favorites for the upcoming edition of the Champions Trophy. They have the firm belief in the team that they can beat any team in the contest. Also, they have stopped overthinking about certain things. He called the current English side as one of the best sides the England cricket has ever seen.

“We feel we are one of the best sides England have produced and breaking records goes some way to proving it. But we feel we can be better still. In the end, trophies are going to be what counts. We don’t over-think things. It’s a bit of a joke but there’s something in it – we are not the brightest. We’re cricket smart but I don’t think in general we’re that bright. It helps us keep things as simple as possible. Alex, for instance, didn’t know what the record was, and didn’t realise he’d broken it when he was batting,” conceded Ali.