LONDON: England all-rounder Moeen Ali is expecting Australia’s fast bowlers to try and unsettle him with short-pitched deliveries during the Ashes series later this year but the left-hander is confident he can survive the ordeal.
The elegant stroke-maker averages almost 35 from his 44 Tests, often stitching together valuable partnerships lower down the order for England.
But the 30-year-old, who also bowls off-spin, has been accused of possessing a batting technique that can be exposed by short-pitched bowling.
“It’s something I’ve been working on and I’m looking forward to it,” Moeen told reporters. “I feel when you get in, it’s a good place to bat. The ball doesn’t swing as much and hopefully whatever number I come in, I can express myself.
“I’m going to have to change a couple of things about the way I play but in terms of mindset, I’ll just go and do what I normally do.”
Moeen has been in sparkling form with both bat and ball this year, and was named man-of-the-series in England’s 4-0 home victory over West Indies in their recent ODI series.
Moeen was confident he could turn the short-pitched bowling against him into an opportunity when the five-Test series against Australia starts with the first match in Brisbane from Nov 23.
“The good thing is I’ve played against them before and I don’t want to speak too early or too confident but I’ll make sure I’m ready for it,” Moeen said. “Hopefully they’ll get tired doing it [bowling the bouncer]. But you get chances to score all the time with the short stuff and I’m going to work hard on that. I am very excited about it.”
