Moeen Ali admits to “hardest 68” of his career after steadying England ship on day one of first Test with Bangladesh
Batsman Moeen Ali reflected on “the hardest 68 of my life” after his dogged innings rescued England on the opening day of the first Test with Bangladesh in Chittagong.
England suffered a nightmare start on a difficult surface, slipping to 21-3 as 18-year-old Bangladesh spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz (5-64) made light work of debutant Ben Duckett (14) and Gary Ballance (1).
Captain Alastair Cook also departed prematurely, marking the occasion of his record-breaking 134th Test cap with just four runs, before Moeen steadied the tourists with a patient, doughty display.
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He survived no fewer than five lbw reviews – three times when given out – in a 170-ball effort that included a restorative sixth-wicket stand of 88 with Jonny Bairstow (52).
“It felt like the hardest 68 I’ve ever scored in my life but the reviews going my way was nice,” said Moeen.
“Rooty [Joe Root] was the one who called the lbw – if it wasn’t for him I probably would have walked on the first one, but the others I didn’t feel were out.
“We didn’t think it was going to spin so much but we’ll settle for that, though losing Jonny at the end was a big blow for us. Opening with spin is obviously an option for us, we’ve got some very good seamers as well but I’m sure the spinners are going to play a big role.
“It’s tough to say what is a good score in the first innings until we have bowled on it. At one point we thought 250 could be quite a good score but we want to be greedy now and try and get a few more.”
Moeen also praised youngster Mehedi, who eventually ended his resistance and also claimed the scalps of Root and Bairstow. “I thought he bowled really well, he was very accurate. He kept the stumps in play,” he added.
How Bangladesh teenager Mehedi tormented England
Duckett, 22, got the nod over Lancashire teenager Haseeb Hameed but lasted less than nine overs of his debut, when he was bowled by Mehedi’s superb delivery.
Cook’s mistimed sweep soon curtailed his contribution and England lost a third wicket in 14 balls when Mehedi – one of five spinners in the hosts’ line-up – snared Ballance lbw.
Root stemmed the flow with a brisk 40 before Mehedi had him caught at slip, bringing Moeen to the crease.
He might have departed for just one run when Bangladesh chose not to review an lbw appeal, and he punished that decision with an influential showing before he too fell to Mehedi, edging to wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim.
Bairstow reiterated his value with a fourth successive half-century which took him past 1,000 Test runs for 2016 and, after Mehedi accounted for him too, all-rounder Chris Woakes added a valuable 36 not out.