This will be like getting myself a break, says Moeen Ali

The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed the award of central contracts for men's Test and white-ball cricket, on Friday, with the selectors announcing 10 Test contracts and 12 white-ball contracts. And while the all-rounder had been contracted by England for all formats since 2014-15, it was confirmed on Friday that he would only receive a white-ball deal for 2019-20. Meanwhile, 25-year-old Jofra Archer has bagged an all-formats deal with the board.

The 32-year-old was left out from the English squad for the second Ashes Test in August, having taken 3/172 and scored four with the bat across both innings in the first Test match defeat to Australia.

Moeen, having starred in guiding reigning T20 Blast champions Worcestershire to a second successive Finals Day, plans to prolong his Test career before making his county return for Worcestershire. "It's just to get away from it a little bit. I feel like I want to enjoy my batting and this will give me a bit of a break," Moeen told ESPNcricinfo.

"I want to spend some time with the family. I've been playing for England for five years and it's been quite tough. The intensity is obviously higher in Test cricket so this is just to give me a break and then we will see what happens after that."

But as England captain Joe Root stated, in August, that the first Ashes Test was "certainly not the last we'll see of ". And the all-rounder himself, who has taken 181 wickets across 60 Tests, has taken 181 wickets across 60 Tests, has plans of coming back and playing the longest format for sure. 

"I'm not ruling out playing Test cricket in the future. I've had long chats and thought about it quite a lot. I just want to give myself a bit of time to refresh my batteries and see where it goes after that."