Thursday, April 16th, 2015

Moeen Added To England Squad For Last Two Tests In West Indies

Moeen Added To England Squad For Last Two Tests In West Indies

Moeen Ali has been added to the England squad for the final two Tests of the current series in the West Indies.

The Worcestershire all-rounder was not included in the original 16 strong squad after suffering an abdominal strain while bowling during the World Cup on March 9 against Bangladesh.

But Moeen proved his fitness during the LV = County Championship Division One clash with Yorkshire at New Road which ended on Tuesday.

Moeen scored 62 and four and bowled a total of 11 overs during Worcestershire's 10 wicket defeat.

He has missed the current first Test in Antigua – now three days old – but will join up with the squad in Grenada on Saturday, before the second Test begins on 21 April.

The last match of the series in Barbados starts on 1 May.

Moeen said: "I'm fully fit now and ready to play. I was really disappointed to be injured and anytime you play for England it is very exciting and once you have had a taste, you just want to keep playing for England."

Moeen had played all seven Tests – two against Sri Lanka and five against India – after making his debut last summer.

But the Windies will represent his first overseas Test. Moeen averages 31.77 with the bat and 28.09 with the ball.

It was in the Windies that Moeen made his international breakthrough 14 months ago in the ODI series when he scored 44, 10 and 55.