Moeen Ali turns a deaf ear to 'Kebab Shop' sledge by an Australian fan

English all-rounder Moeen Ali has revealed that he had a racist comment directed at him from the crowd while he was fielding in the ongoing Ashes series. The ambidextrous cricketer was in no mood to complain about the exchange and took the higher road, describing it as ‘nothing major’ and didn’t want to escalate the matter any further.

The high-profile series, which is already punctuated by reports of ‘sledging’ may or may not have overstepped the mark in some instances, but Ali’s anecdotal evidence is sure to raise scrutiny about unacceptable remarks. The tournament follows a zero-tolerance approach to any transgression, in line with the International Cricket Council’s anti-racism policy and accompanied by regular big-screen warnings throughout each day’s play about the consequence of discriminatory behaviour.

Speaking about the comment aimed at him, the all-rounder said, “Somebody asked me what time my kebab shop opened, but that is about it.”

When quizzed, if he had to contend with any verbals on the pitch, Moeen, who is about to captain his country for the first time against a Cricket Australia XI in Perth gave a crisp reply. He cleared the air, saying the banter in the middle has been benign, restricted to jibes about his elevated position in the batting order after being pushed up from number eight to six. The 30-year-old stated that one has to take such comments on the chin and move on.

Match Details

England, currently stand 0-2 down in the series, and will be looking to Moeen to deliver in order to mount a fightback. The left-hander has managed a top score of 40 in 4 innings and picked up just 2 wickets. The Lions looked convincing for a win on the back of some incredible bowling performance on the penultimate day of the second Test but slumped to a 120 runs defeat.

They’ll take on the hosts in the deciding third Test which will kick off on December 12 at Perth.