Moeen Ali reveals hilarious one-liners with captain Ben Stokes that promoted his Test comeback ahead of Ashes 2023

Ben Stokes & Moeen Ali (Source: Twitter)

It hasn't been long since English all-rounder Moeen Ali made headlines for his decision to return to the Test cricket ahead of the much-anticipated Ashes 2023. The 35-year-old has now revealed a hilarious one-word message with captain Ben Stokes that prompted him to come out of retirement for the epic Test series between England and Australia, which begins on June 16.

Moeen last played red-ball cricket at the Oval in London against India in 2021 before retiring to focus on limited-overs cricket. But when left-arm orthodox spinner Jack Leach was ruled out of the Ashes series due to injury, the England captain and the English & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) approached him about returning to the Test format.

During a press conference, the vice-captain of England's ODI and T20 teams said Stokes reached out to him with a simple message that proved to be impactful. He said that Stokes texted him, "Ashes?" to which he responded, "lol."

"Stokesy messaged me with a question mark, 'Ashes?', and I hadn't heard of Leachy('s injury) at the time, and I just went 'lol', thinking he's taking the mickey," Moeen said.

Being a part of the Ashes would be amazing: Moeen

After learning about Leach's unavailability, Moeen had a conversation with his captain about the possibility of returning to the Test squad.

"Then the news came through and I had a chat with him. The fact that it is the Ashes and it is such a big series, to be part of it would be amazing," the left-arm batting all-rounder added.

The player from Warwickshire has played 64 Test matches for England and has scored 2914 runs at an average of 28.29 including five centuries. He has taken 195 wickets at an average of 36.66, including 13 five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul.

Moeen's form will be crucial for England as they as are without frontline spinner Leach.

"One thing I really want to make clear is I’m going to try to give this everything I’ve got. More than I did before probably. And be a massive part of what could be a huge series. I want to be involved in this," he said.

“It’s a free hit. I’m not playing for my spot. There’s no pressure, really. I spoke to Baz and he said he’s not bothered about how I perform, which is quite nice," Moeen added.