England all-rounder Moeen Ali has extended his break from international cricket, refusing to make him available for the South Africa tour despite conditions favours him most, as he felt the return for the upcoming Tests would have too soon.
He has been out of international actions since the home Ashes series in August, as made himself unavailable for England selection indefinitely.
Moeen admitted that he had been tempted to make an early return for the four-match Test series in South Africa, which gets underway at Centurion on Boxing Day (December 26) after having conversations with the England management following their 1-0 series loss in New Zealand.
However, the all-rounder eventually decided to skip the South Africa tour, as he feels the extended break will prolong his Test career, saying he wants to get the feeling of making his debut again whenever he makes return to an international arena again.
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Writing in his column in The Guardian, Moeen said: “Representing England has always been a privilege and my decision to take a break from Test cricket at the end of the home summer was made to ensure that, hopefully, I can do it for a lot longer.”
He continued, “Last week, there were conversations about whether I felt ready to return for the South Africa tour, and naturally, part of me was keen to get back out there. My record against them is pretty good, and as a team, we have happy memories of winning there four years ago.
But it just felt too soon. The past few years have been so full-on, and the plan behind my break from Test cricket was to freshen up, enjoy some new environments and get my game back in good order. That is something that people perhaps don't realise is hard to do when you play all three international formats, and particularly so when you are an all-rounder.”
The all-rounder further added, “The time away has felt quite liberating. Since my international debut in 2014 the miles on the clock have probably crept up and Test cricket is the level where the pressure and scrutiny are greatest. Combining it all had become a bit draining and rushing back now might have seen nothing change in this regard.”
The Englishman can be expected to return for a tour of Sri Lanka featuring two Tests in March next year, but the 32-year-old has not made any assurances about that.
Moeen signed off by saying, “I have put no timeframe on things. I just want to get that buzz back - a feeling of making my debut again - and ultimately become a better player for it. And there is no expectation of simply walking back into the Test team, far from it. I have taken a risk with this break, but I'm still gunning for Jack Leach, Matt Parkinson, and all my England team-mates to have a great series in South Africa.”
(With The Guardian Inputs)
