Ben Stokes: Moeen Ali told Brendon McCullum last night that he wanted a crack at three | Ashes 2023
Ben Stokes has said that Moeen Ali’s surprise promotion to number three on the final day at Headingley was the off-spinning all-rounder’s idea.
England sprang a surprise on Australia with Moeen walking out to bat at number three instead of Harry Brook, who batted there in the first innings.
Brook was promoted up to three ahead of the Headingley Test after Ollie Pope, who had previously batted at first drop in every Test of Stokes’ captaincy before a shoulder injury ruled him out of the rest of the 2023 Ashes.
The 24-year-old Yorkshireman, who has almost exclusively batted at five in Test cricket, came to the crease in just the fourth over of the first innings after Pat Cummins removed Ben Duckett for two. Brook departed two overs later, edging Cummins to second slip for three.
Brook revealed after the Test that England coach Brendon McCullum told him that he’d be batting back at five in the second innings, but did not say who would be at three in his place. Speaking to Sky Sports Cricket after play, Stokes said that it was in fact Moeen’s idea to move up the order.
“Mo always wants to impact the game,” said Stokes. “He said to Brendon last night that he wanted to take them on and have a crack at No. 3. He felt like he could have an impact up the order.”
It didn’t quite work out for Moeen, who has batted everywhere from opening to No. 9 in Test, as he was bowled by Mitchell Starc for five but England will argue that his promotion did its job. It delayed Brook’s entrance to the crease and it was Brook who ended up playing England’s most consequential knock of the run chase, hitting 75 from his more familiar spot at five to all but take England over the line before Chris Woakes and Mark Wood finished off the job.
When asked directly about whether Moeen was a realistic option to bat at three at Old Trafford, Stokes was non-committal, not ruling it out but suggesting that they made the call to promote him here owing to the specific match situation.
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