Moeen Ali, the stand-in England captain for the third T20I against Australia in the absence of Eoin Morgan, hailed Adil Rashid for his commendable performance in the encounter, calling him “the best in the world” in white-ball cricket.

Chasing 146, Australia found themselves in a spot of bother when Rashid struck twice in the 11th over, removing Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch, before returning in the 13th for his final over to dismiss Steve Smith. Though he couldn’t quite drag England to the finish line, Rashid’s 3-21 gave them a glimmer of hope in their quest for a clean sweep.

Adil Rashid's googly is one of the best sights in cricket 😍#ENGvAUSpic.twitter.com/GRTk8tbAnx

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) September 8, 2020

Mitchell Marsh and Ashton Agar prevented a repeat of the first T20I’s story and helped Australia to a consolation five-wicket victory in the three-match series.

Talking to the media after the match, Moeen said England could have done with one more of Rashid’s overs before hailing him as the “best in the world”. Rashid finished as the top wicket-taker of the series with six wickets in three matches.

“You always wish he had another over or so,” he said. “I think he is quite hard to pick and play, he’s got so much skill.

“He’s an amazing bowler for us – when he’s bowling like that, I think he’s the best in the world. He’s brilliant and he has been over a long period of time and it’s the reason why he’s a leading wicket-taker in white-ball cricket.”

Adil Rashid has struck with the last ball of each of his three spells this series.#ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/964ZWnQRPF

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) September 8, 2020

Moeen also heaped praise on Buttler, who missed the final T20I to see his family. “He’s an amazing, world-class player – a great leader and if he had been here tonight I’m sure he would have been captain,” Moeen said.

“He has changed our way of playing completely. He brings so much to the team – even if he doesn’t score runs, just having him in the changing room is amazing. I’m sure there will be more to come.

“We have learnt we have a top bowling attack and when Stokesy, [Ben Stokes] Jos, Morgs and Jason [Roy] come back, we will have a formidable side.”