Moeen Ali hails Adil Rashid as ‘best spinner in world’ in limited overs cricket
Moeen Ali, who took over as the captain of the England team for the third T20I against Australia, has hailed Adil Rashid as the best spinner in the world in limited overs cricket.
Adil Rashid picked up three quick wickets to give England a glimmer of hope but Australia managed to hold their nerve against England and win the third and final Twenty20 International by five wickets. , Twitter
Moeen Ali created history on Tuesday as he became the first Asian-origin player to lead England in any format. Moeen Ali was appointed the skipper after Eoin Morgan was rested and Jos Buttler was forced to miss the match after breaching the bio-bubble protocol. Although England lost the third and final T20I against Australia by five runs, it was a close contest with Adil Rashid taking three wickets and Australia having a mini-collapse in the middle overs. Rashid started the rot by removing Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell in one over followed by Steve Smith in the next over as he ended with 3/21 from four overs.
Speaking after the match, Moeen Ali said Adil Rashid was the best bowler in white-ball cricket for England. “You always wish he had another over or so. 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,” Moeen Ali said.
Golden period for Rashid
In 2018, Adil Rashid picked up 42 wickets in 24 ODIs and it was punctuated by one wonderful ball to Virat Kohli that spun away and squared up the Indian cricket team captain to bowl him comprehensively. In T20Is that year, he picked up 12 wickets in nine matches at an impressive average of 20.5 and an economy rate of under 7.
Moeen also lavished praise on Jos Buttler for his magnificent performance in the series. Buttler smashed 44 and 77 in the two Twenty20 Internationals as England clinched the series and his absence was sorely felt in the last match. Moeen Ali labelled him a game-changer.
“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. 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 Ben Stokes Jos, Morgan and Jason Roy come back, we will have a formidable side,” Moeen Ali said.
The series now shifts to the three ODIs that will begin on September 11 in Old Trafford.