England can win Ashes without all-rounder Ben Stokes, says Moeen Ali
Moeen Ali has believed that England will still be able to win the Ashes without all-rounder Ben Stokes in the squad. In the absence of Stokes, Ali, who usually bats at number eight in Tests, might play up the batting order, and he has claimed that he would be comfortable with that.
Stokes was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm and suspended from international cricket until further notice following an apparent fight outside a Bristol nightclub. The incident took place just a night before the game with West Indies and Stokes wasn't permitted to play that game, as he was arrested but was later released without any charges. Stokes is the vice-captain of the England test side and was named in England's 16-man squad for the Ashes tour, which is scheduled to start in November. However, he was suspended on Thursday until further investigation into the incident.Ā
Ali acknowledged Stokeās importance in the side but said they could win without him.
"We all know how good a cricketer he is, what he can bring to the table and he's one of the main players that we have, so it would be great to have him out there but let's see what happens," Ali said as quoted by PTI.
"If he's not there then we're going to have to play well without him so I definitely feel that we can still win."Ā England is looking forward to the challenge of retaining the Ashes as they lastĀ won the Ashes at home back in 2015.
Stokes absence could
"Number eight is somewhere I'm kind of used to at the moment but if I'm told to bat seven I feel I'm capable of doing well and hopefully can show that I can go out there and play against their bowlers, play well against them," he said.
"I can't wait," he added. "Genuinely I can't wait. I'm very, very excited. It's something that when you're a young county player you're always thinking you'd love to be on that sort of tour.
"I never, ever thought I'd be on a tour like this so to be going I'm very, very fortunate and I know that hopefully we'll go out there and perform and win the Ashes."
The first match of the series will be played on November 23 in Brisbane.Ā