Moeen Ali has admitted that the culture and behaviour of the England cricket team needs to change or they risk turning a generation of children away from the sport.
Speaking after the tourists drew their two-day match against a Cricket Australia XI in the sweltering 36C heat of Perth, and in his capacity as the stand-in captain for a team made up of reserves and Lions players, the all-rounder addressed the latest late-night error of judgment that has given rise to talk of an alcohol problem in the squad.
“As cricketers and professionals, with the scrutiny that is on us, we have to obviously be careful and behave ourselves,” Moeen said. “With young kids watching and hearing the news, we have to be on our best behaviour. I think it’s really important that we inspire the younger generation to take up the game. It could turn them away. That’s not what we want.
“We’re all grown men and should know how to behave. Through county cricket all the way up to international cricket, the individual needs to be responsible for his behaviour. As a cricketer, from a young age there’s always been these sort of things. But maybe the culture needs to change now. We want cricket to grow for kids, and for families to come and watch.”
That Moeen, one of the sport’s most high-profile practising Muslims, was forced to tackle this subject – and explain to a local reporter he is not a pub person himself – was prompted by Ben Duckett tipping a drink over Jimmy Anderson during the early hours of Friday morning, for which the Lions batsman was dropped. Duckett has now been suspended for the final three Twenty20 matches of the Lions tour, hit with the maximum fine possible (£1500) and issued with a final written warning.
The incident occurred on the first night the team’s midnight curfew was lifted – in the very same Avenue bar where Jonny Bairstow previously thought a light head-butt was an acceptable greeting – and after Joe Root, the Test captain, had once again reminded the 10 players heading out, after a convivial team quiz evening in the hotel, of their responsibilities.
Asked if the message was actually getting through, Moeen, who was not out that evening, replied: “Yeah. Slowly but surely. Hopefully it will change, and it’s not as bad as people make out. But these days, small things … people make them into big things.”
Duckett’s dousing of England’s all‑time leading wicket taker certainly fits this description but with England 2-0 down in their Ashes defence, without Ben Stokes after his arrest in Bristol in September, and having already seen their defeat in Brisbane dominated by the news of Bairstow’s social faux, it was still incredibly naive from the young batsman.
Moeen went on to point out that cricketers, by the very nature of their trade, spend months away from home on the road. While mixing drinks for him involves alternating between Coke and Sprite – as he joked during the English summer – others will naturally unwind with alcohol and to date the team management have tried to treat them like adults.
And yet certain brains have failed to engage, not least given the seriousness of the Stokes affair, and Bayliss is now considering dropping certain players for the tour to New Zealand in March regardless of their standing in the side to try to crack down on the issue.
Those sitting in reserve and hoping to impress had a slightly tricky second day at leafy Richardson Park in South Perth, with the Cricket Australia XI blasting their way to within 25 runs of a contrived run chase of 294 in 38 overs, for the loss of seven wickets, before the handshakes went round at 5pm.
The Somerset spinner Jack Leach bought four victims for an eye-watering 104 runs in 9.5 overs during his first senior appearance and Surrey’s Tom Curran finished with five for the match. But the most encouraging performance came from Mark Wood after the persistent ankle and heel issues that ruined his recent summer.
The Durham quick impressed on a sluggish pitch, struck twice in the morning with balls that hurried the local batsmen up – Travis Dean, who later hit a 68-ball hundred during the evening session, was certainly beaten for pace – and though the third Test at the Waca starting on Thursday is likely to come too soon, he is set to remain with the senior side for the rest of the Ashes series.
“Talking to him, he feels really confident in his own game and feels like he’s ready and back to his best,” Moeen said. “I was really impressed with how he bowled, it was good to see from an English point of view. His pace was right up there with how quick we know he can bowl. It wasn’t just the pace, his control as well. He was certainly our most threatening bowler.”
While Moeen did not bowl as he allows his cut spinning finger to fully heal before Thursday, the left-hander enjoyed some time in the middle. He struck 47 from 41 balls, including two sixes and six fours, as he and Gary Ballance, 41 not out, went about setting up the target for the hosts during the afternoon.
Bayliss is understood to be considering switching Moeen and Jonny Bairstow in the batting order – the move to leave the latter at No7 has not paid off – but otherwise it is pointing to an unchanged Test team as England look to get back into the series and get their cricket get back on the news agenda.