"He will end his career thinking he could have got more Test runs"- Nasser Hussain on Moeen Ali

Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes Moeen Ali is a much better batter than the perception is about the latter becoming a No. 3 for England in the fourth Ashes 2023 Test at Old Trafford, Manchester.

With Ollie Pope out injured and the experiment to promote Harry Brook to No. 3 not working well at Headingley, the hosts decided to stick to Ali at that position. While this decision did raise a few eyebrows, Hussain shed light on how good a batter Ali was before he started playing as a specialist spinner.

Here's what Nasser Hussain told Sky Sports Cricket about Ali's well-made 54 on Day 2:

"I think we forget what a good young batter Moeen was. Anyone watching a young Moeen growing up would say, ‘This lad can bat.’ That is the reason he has said he wants to bat at No. 3. He will end his career thinking he could have got more Test runs for the ability he has got. He wants to go out there and show the world again that he is a proper, proper batter.”

Before the Old Trafford Test began, Ali had spoken to the reporters about why he felt that his batting at No.3 would be in the best interest of the team. He opined:

“I think Brook is a great player and will be a great player. I just personally feel like five is great for him, and the impact he can have at five is much more than what he can probably do at three at the moment. I’m not saying he won’t be a good No. 3, I just feel right now for the team, it’s probably best that I go three. I do enjoy batting three, the challenge of batting three. I think for the team right now, it’s the best thing.”

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Kumar Sangakkara on Moeen Ali's half-century

Former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara also lauded Moeen Ali for his calm and composed half-century at No.3 on Thursday. Australia struck early with Ben Duckett's wicket, but Sangakkara explained how Ali ensured he played the perfect foil to Zak Crawley and didn't allow the visitors to make further inroads quickly.

On this, the former cricketer stated:

"He was quite sedate, but he did an important job, battled through a tough period after England lost (Ben) Duckett quite early. He made sure the Australians couldn’t get another breakthrough and left the short ball well for a lot of his innings.” – Sangakkara."

A sensational 189 from Crawley, coupled with half-centuries from Ali and Root have put England in a dominant position with a lead of 67 runs ahead of the start of play on Day 3.