Moeen would not join Yorkshire as a “publicity stunt” after Rafiq racism scandal

Yorkshire are reportedly hoping to sign Moeen Ali from Worcestershire at the end of the season and the England international has said a move to Headingley would only be for “cricketing reasons” and not as a “publicity stunt”

England all-rounder Moeen Ali could leave Worcestershire this summer when his contract expires and he has been linked with a potential switch to Yorkshire.

Moeen has been at Worcestershire since 2007, but has admitted he could leave New Road and is “talking to other counties”. The Mail on Sunday claim that Yorkshire are one of those clubs interested in signing the 34-year-old.

Yorkshire are in the midst of a rebuild following the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal, with Lord Patel at the helm as chairman, Darren Gough as director of cricket and Ottis Gibson as head coach. And while Moeen believes the club are “doing a good job” following the scandal, he says he would not join them as a “publicity stunt”.

Speaking to BBC Test Match Special about his future, Moeen said: “This is my last year at Worcester. I’m talking to them, I’m talking to other counties.

“I do love playing for Worcester, I’ve been there 15 years now. I moved from Warwickshire and they obviously helped me develop my game, play for England, but when the time comes I’ll make a decision.

“I think Yorkshire are doing a good job and will continue to do that. I don’t think they need to sign me to make it a publicity stunt, almost. If I ever left, it would be for cricketing reasons.”

Moeen has also officially reversed his retirement from Test cricket and is targeting a place in the England squad for their upcoming three-Test series against Pakistan. “I spoke to McCullum this morning, and we did discuss Pakistan this winter,” he added.

“The door is always open, and yeah, I suppose I am officially unretired. He is a very difficult person to say no to. I find that very, very hard.

“He is very convincing and to be honest I would love to play under him and Ben Stokes. They are both very aggressive and I think I would suit their cricket a bit more.”