LONDON: England’s World Cup-winner Moeen Ali has retired from international cri­cket, with the 37-year-old insisting: “I’ve done my part.” The spin-bowling all-rounder, in an interview with Britain’s Daily Mail, said he made the decision after he was overlooked for Engl­and’s upcoming white-ball ser­ies against arch-rivals Australia.

“I’m 37 years old and didn’t get picked for this month’s Australia series,” Ali told the newspaper. “I’ve played a lot of cricket for England. It’s time for the next generation, which was also explained to me. It felt the time was right. I’ve done my part.”

Matthew Mott was sacked as head coach of England’s limited-overs sides in July following woeful title defences in both the ODI and T20 World Cups.

And there was further change when both Ali and Jonny Bairs­tow, who have over 400 England caps between them, were left out of the squads for this month’s T20 and ODIs against Australia.

Ali, one of the first openly Muslim cricketers to represent England, had already called time in his red-ball international career but said he could have extended a stint in the national set-up that has seen him appear in 68 Tests, 138 ODIs and 92 T20s.

However, he explained he was “trying to be realistic” about his international future, saying: “I could hold on and try to play for England again, but I know in reality I won’t. Even retiring, I don’t feel it’s because I’m not good enough, I still feel I can play. But I get how things are, and the team needs to evolve into another cyc­le. It’s about being real to myself.”

Having made his reputation as a batsman, Ali said he was “especially” proud of taking 204 Test wickets, adding: “I’m also proud of getting five Test hundreds.

“It’s only five, but it means a lot, especially when I was often down the order.”

Ali also said he planned to continue playing franchise cricket, but would then like to stay involved in the game as a coach.

“Coaching is something I want to do — I want to be one of the best,” he said. “I can learn a lot from (England coach Brendon McCullum). I hope people remember me as a free spirit. I played some nice shots and some bad shots, but hopefully people enjoyed watching me.”

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2024