Moeen Ali Says Ben Stokes is 'Special, Has Turned England into an Amazing Team'

Moeen Ali lavished praise on Ben Stokes saying the current England skipper is special for the way he has transformed the side into an “amazing and entertaining” unit.

“I had Joe Root and Alastair Cook as my captains, but Stokesy was just different. The way he’s taking the game and team forward, it’s really amazing. He took England from not playing great cricket to amazing and entertaining cricket,” Ali told ‘ESPNCricinfo’.

England are trailing 1-3 in the ongoing series and the the fifth and final Test is currently in progress in Dharamsala.

IND vs ENG: 5th Test, Day 2 – LIVE

Ali also defended the visiting team’s ultra-aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach.

“Everyone is talking about Bazball. But they actually don’t believe much in (the term). They just want to play this brand of cricket. I think he is a special captain and a special player,” said Ali.

Ali was in favour of the aggressive game that England follow under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, saying Test cricket is in need of ‘Bazball’.

“They have taken to India on difficult wickets. I love that about Bazball. There’s always a chance. India are also taking the game on. Look at the way (Yashasvi) Jaiswal is playing. He is doing unbelievably well.

“It is the way the game needs to go for people to watch. Test cricket also has to change. There’s still time for proper Test match batting, but it needs to get forward. This is what Bazball is doing,” he explained.

Moeen Ali also delighted to see the young crop of England spinners — Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed — giving a good account of themselves in the series against India.

“India is a very difficult place. I know the wickets have spun nicely, still they have carried their own. I thought Hartley did really well in the first game (in Hyderabad).

“No matter what wicket, on debut, under pressure, the way he has battled is really, really good. This is a very inexperienced bowling attack. It is not even experienced in domestic cricket. You have to give them a lot of credit,” he said.

(With inputs from Agencies)