Moeen Ali added to England’s Ashes squad to replace injured Jack Leach

Moeen Ai has been lured out of Test retirement and will be part of England’s squad for the first two Ashes matches against Australia.

England were rocked by the news that Somerset spinner Jack Leach would miss the entire five-match Test series after sustaining a lower back stress fracture during the recent warm-up win over Ireland.

Head coach Brendon McCullum immediately pinpointed Ali – who retired from Test cricket in 2021 – as the man he wanted to replace Leach and has managed to persuade him to come out of retirement.

England managing director Rob Key said: ‘We reached out to Mo early this week about returning to Test cricket.

‘Having had a couple of days to reflect, Mo is excited to join the squad and play Test cricket again. His vast experience, along with his all-round ability, will benefit our Ashes campaign.

‘We wish Mo and the rest of the squad well for the Ashes campaign.’

Ali, who will turn 36 during the first Test at Edgbaston, has taken 195 wickets in 64 Tests for England but has a rather mixed record against Australia.

When he announced his decision to retire from the longer format of the game he said he had found it ‘really long and really difficult to get into’ while he was reluctant to quarantine for the away Ashes series in Australia.

Reacting to Moeen’s return, BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew said: ‘It demonstrates the seriousness of the situation that England have reached out to a player that hasn’t appeared in first-class cricket for two years.

‘He’s committed to franchise cricket. Mooen will be part of England’s World Cup squad in the Autumn but any return to the Test squad seems short-lived.

‘This is the situation that England find themselves in and Moeen’s return must dent the hopes of Surrey’s Will Jacks, Hampshire’s Liam Dawson and Leicestershire’s Rehan Ahmed.

‘It also suggests that Moeen, who will strengthen the batting, will play at Edgbaston with England reluctant to go into the game with an unbalanced four-man pace attack.’

MORE : ‘Big shoes for them to fill’ – Steve Smith reacts to Jack Leach missing England’s Ashes campaign through injury

MORE : Nasser Hussain backs England to beat Australia in close Ashes series as Ben Stokes’ side batter Ireland at Lord’s

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