England vs Australia, 3rd Ashes Test: ‘He loves those situations’- Moeen Ali hails Ben Stokes’s winning abilities | Cricket News – Times of India

Moeen Ali expressed his admiration for Ben Stokes‘s exceptional performance and emphasized that England‘s chances of achieving a remarkable Ashes victory remained alive as long as their inspirational captain remained involved in the game.
At the start of the second day of the third Test at Headingley, England found themselves in trouble at 87-5, trailing Australia‘s first-innings total of 263 .However, Stokes, who had previously delivered a stunning 155 in the defeat at Lord’s, displayed his brilliance once again, scoring 80 runs off 108 balls, including six fours and five sixes.
His impressive innings guided England to a total of 237 all out, a mere 26 runs behind Australia.Moeen, the off-spinner, played his part by taking two wickets for just two runs in a span of nine balls, dismissing Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. Australia finished the day’s play at 116-4 in their second innings, holding a lead of 142 runs.
Although Australia still maintained the advantage in their pursuit of a first away Ashes series victory in 22 years, English fans can now dare to dream of witnessing a repeat of Stokes’s heroic performance at Headingley in 2019. It was in that memorable Ashes Test that Stokes’s incredible unbeaten 135 guided England to an extraordinary one-wicket win over Australia, allowing them to create a lasting legacy.
But while Moeen warned against an over-reliance on the all-rounder, battling a longstanding left knee problem among several fitness issues, he said: “Ben’s a brilliant player. He’s the one player in the world who everyone will be thinking about in that situation, especially against Australia because he has done it a couple of times now.

“As long as he’s there, you’ve always got a great chance of winning. It’s the situations more than anything, he loves those situations, he thrives off them.”
Moeen added: “We can’t rely on him all the time. We do have dangerous players who we just need to come to the party as well as Ben… His body has obviously been through a lot but there’s one thing with Ben, he can’t do anything without it being 100 percent.”
Moeen’s bowling prowess is not typically associated with containment, but he showcased his talent by dismissing Labuschagne and Smith, reaching the milestone of 200 Test wickets. Among England spinners, only Derek Underwood (297) and Graeme Swann (255) have achieved greater feats. Moeen accomplished this feat in an impressive fashion, conceding only 34 runs in 17 overs, displaying great economy with figures of 2-34.

This remarkable achievement came on the heels of a finger injury that had sidelined Moeen from action at Lord’s, following his return to Test cricket in the series opener at Edgbaston.
“My finger is fine, it’s sore but I can bowl,” said Moeen. “I’m pleased with the 200 wickets.”
Australia captain Pat Cummins took an impressive 6-91 but the fast bowler could not dismiss Stokes, dropped twice on 45 but eventually falling to the off-spin of Todd Murphy.
“When Stokes is there you are never in total control,” admitted Australia head coach Andrew McDonald, who added: “Full credit to Ben, his way of batting with the tail is probably second to none.
“We have to work out a way to navigate through Ben Stokes in the second innings.”
(With agency inputs)