MOEEN ALI has become the second England player to announce his retirement from Test cricket after the Ashes.
The spin-bowler initially retired from Test cricket back in September 2021 but returned for the Ashes series following an injury to Jack Leach.
Moeen Ali has joined Stuart Broad in retirement
Stuart Broad, 37, announced his retirement at the end of Day 3 of the fifth Test and then went on to take the winning wickets as England came from two down to tie the series.
Ali, 36, came out of retirement as England captain Ben Stokes messaged him “Ashes?”.
He has now announced his second retirement to the media and insisted that he would be deleting any future messages from Stokes asking him to come back.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “It was great to come back. When Stokesy messaged me I was a little bit taken aback but when I said yes I was fully into it.
“I have loved it, it has been an amazing experience to play under Stokesy and Baz [Brendon McCullum].
“I knew the bigger challenge was going to be physical but I am so glad I said yes. It was been an amazing experience and one I will never forget for the rest of my life.
“I know I’m done. If Stokesy messages me again, I am going to delete it!”
Ali signed off in style too as he took three key wickets in the final session to help England to their win.
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Coach Brendon McCullum praised Ali after his announcement for his “incredible character”.
He said: “Mo is an incredible character within the dressing room. He has got a real ability to lift the spirits of the other guys.
“I think we have seen him in this series play without the pressure of the past.
“What he did in this Test match, and by putting his hand up to bat at No 3 and take pressure off other guys, was the mark of what he is like as a human being. He is also a great cricketer.”
Broad’s heroics were watched on by wife and pop star Mollie King who shed a tear as he took Alex Carey’s wicket.
