England all-rounder Moeen Ali has reversed his decision to hang up his boots from Test cricket in 2021 to join the England roster for the first two Ashes Tests in 2023. Moeen was also asked to consider a potential call-up, as Jack Leach will miss due to a hamstring injury as well. However, ahead of the all-important Ashes series starting from June 16, England’s morale will be high as they have found a replacement for Jack Leach as well.

Notably, Moeen Ali has earned a recall to the national squad and he had discussions with Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum, and Rob Key – England’s captain, coach, and managing director respectively and decided to return to the longer format again. Key confirmed the development saying that his vast experience will benefit the Ashes campaign as well.

“We reached out to Mo early this week about returning to Test cricket. Having had a couple of days to reflect, Mo is excited to join the squad and play Test cricket again,” Key stated in a statement. “His vast experience, along with his all-round ability, will benefit our Ashes campaign. We wish Mo and the rest of the squad well for the Ashes campaign.”

Although Moeen Ali is the frontrunner to replace Leach, he hasn’t featured in any first-class game since retiring from the format in 2021. He played in various leagues around the world after that and he became open to the idea of returning to Test cricket under the leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum as well. However, the England squad will report to Birmingham on June 12 and they will begin preparation for the opening match of the Ashes 2023.

Updated squad for the first two Tests: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Moeen Ali