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Former England captain David Gower has warned that all-rounder Moeen Ali’s spin bowling needs to improve if he is to retain the trust of the England selectors over this Ashes summer.
“What’s important to Moeen is to get his bowling right,” Gower told The Independent ahead of the first Test against Australia. “I don’t think his bowling has been anything like as effective as it was last year. In the West Indies it was disappointing, against New Zealand it was disappointing. Those are just facts.”
Moeen has still only played 11 Test matches and Gower said that the way for him to improve was to bowl more.
“Spinners always need overs under their belt, and years of experience,” he added. “They mature in time. There are technicalities and psychologies involved with spin bowling that take time to master.
“On the evidence of what we have seen this summer, he needs to improve. If England stick with him, they are keeping their fingers crossed.”
Show all 30 1 /30Matt Prior rates England and Australia Matt Prior rates England and Australia ENGLAND: Alastair Cook (capt) Captains have a huge role to play in an Ashes series and he’ll lead from the front. He loves the challenge of playing Australia, and I think he’ll have a big series.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Adam Lyth He has a lot of runs in county cricket and when he gets hundreds he gets big ones. He’s a nuggety player and he’s not going to take a step back. He’s the right choice to open the batting.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Gary Ballance He has had a tough time recently but you don’t average 50 in Test cricket without having a lot of quality, and you’re only ever one innings away from that form returning. He needs to start the series well, though.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Ian Bell You just hope his form continues. He’s a hugely passionate English cricketer and he’ll be motivated by what happened in the last Ashes series in Australia, when he was dropped for the final Test in Sydney. He’s a different player now.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Joe Root You just hope his form continues. He’s a hugely passionate English cricketer and he’ll be motivated by what happened in the last Ashes series in Australia, when he was dropped for the final Test in Sydney. He’s a different player now.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Jos Buttler (wicket-keeper) Another hugely talented young cricketer. There’s no limit to what he can achieve with the bat and, after doing some sessions with him last week, his glovework is hugely impressive too.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Moeen Ali The Aussies will target whichever spinner England go with, but Moeen is pretty unflappable, he’ll take it in his stride. He got wickets against India’s top batsmen last summer so don’t underestimate him.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Adil Rashid He gives it a rip and has a great googly. If England play two spinners at Cardiff, which they could well do, then he’s a great option. Graeme Swann obviously left a huge gap when he retired but it’s great to see competition for that spinner’s slot.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Jimmy Anderson Still one of the world’s best. You always look at your new-ball partnership to set the tone in the field and that’s something which Jimmy and Broady have done for England time and time again.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Stuart Broad He bowls spells that change series – and the Aussies know that better than anyone. He knows his game so well now and he and Jimmy won’t need firing up for this series after what happened Down Under.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Mark Wood I hope he gets the nod at Cardiff. He’s quick and I really think he has added something to this attack. I’ve been really impressed with him, as much with his attitude and temperament as his ability – he looks like he enjoys playing for England.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Steve Finn It’s great to see Finny back in the squad. He’s a champion bloke and when he’s on form he’s a serious handful with his height and his pace. It has been a long road back for him but the signs are positive.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Liam Plunkett He’s another guy who will be knocking on the door this summer. He’s big, he’s quick and he showed last summer that when he gets it right he can be very dangerous.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Mark Footitt All the reports suggest that he’s in great form and bowling very quick. He also gives you that variation too, with that change of left-arm angle. He needs to go back to county cricket and keep taking wickets.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia AUSTRALIA: David Warner You know what you’re going to get from him. He’s brash and he’s going to come out there and attack the English bowlers from the off. When he’s in form he’s devastating and England need to pick him up early.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Chris Rogers He’s the perfect foil for Warner. He’s a nuggety batsman who will just sit in all day and get to a hundred without really looking like he has played a shot. He knows these conditions well so I would expect him to open up.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Shaun Marsh He’s a very elegant player and has all the shots. He’s very comfortable against the short ball and has started the tour very positively. He’ll battle it out with Rogers for that opening slot.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Steve Smith The thing you can’t argue about is the number of runs he has scored, because he has been in incredible form. From an England point of view, you hope he has used all those runs up before the Ashes. The key is to get that ball moving away from the bat.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Michael Clarke (capt) It will probably his last Ashes tour but his experience will be crucial. A class player but he has never won an Ashes series here. That will be hanging over him. He’ll want to put that right.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Shane Watson Like Clarke he has never won the Ashes here but he’s another superb player. He’ll be battling it out with Mitchell Marsh for that No 6 slot.
Matt Prior rates England and Australia Adam Voges He has come through really late, which isn’t rare in Australia. He’s another who has had to wait for his chance but he has grabbed it. A very orthodox batsman and another guy who has played a lot here.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Mitchell Marsh He has started the tour superbly and he’s a hugely gifted cricketer. Again, he could be the all-rounder to provide the Aussies with the balance that they need. It will be fascinating to see if he gets the nod over Watson.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Brad Haddin (wkt) He had a storming series against us last time and gets most of his runs against England, which is a shame. He’s a pivotal member of their side. Another wicket we need to get early.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Peter Nevill He might not get too much cricket this summer but he’s a capable wicket-keeper. If Haddin gets injured then he’ll obviously come in.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Mitchell Johnson He was lethal in Australia but he hasn’t done it over here on a consistent basis in the past. If he gets it right in his first spell in Cardiff then England should be worried – but if he doesn’t it could turn into a real headache for Clarke.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Peter Siddle Siddle is the kind of bowler who keeps the pressure on you all the time. He and Harris kept it so tight in the last Ashes series and that really enabled Johnson to bowl the way he did.
Matt Prior rates England and Australia Josh Hazlewood He showed in the West Indies what a good bowler he has developed into. He’s not as quick as Johnson or Starc but he’s accurate and seams it around.
Matt Prior rates England and Australia Nathan Lyon A revelation in the back-to-back Ashes series and we were pretty disappointed with how we played him. We allowed him to bottle up an end and that can’t happen again. England will need to attack him.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Fawad Ahmed His is a great story but I’m not sure how much bowling he’s going to get in this Ashes series. I don’t think the Aussies will go in with two spinners.
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Matt Prior rates England and Australia Pat Cummins I know how highly he’s rated in Australia and when he gets it right he’s seriously quick. But he has suffered a lot of injuries. It would be a brave call to pick him at Cardiff.
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England have the option of using leg-spinner Adil Rashid instead, which Gower described as a “potentially attacking option” and a “very tempting thing to do”. But generally he is more confident about the chances of an England side who have improved in the months leading up to the Ashes summer, of which Sky Sports will show every ball live.
“England in the last six weeks have done some extraordinary things,” said Gower. “They played some enterprising stuff, various individuals have made huge strides forward – and therefore I think we are in a much better place than we might have been two or three months ago. It is likely to be closer than people think.
“If there’s one team that England always wants to beat it’s Australia. An Ashes summer is so special because as a player and as a viewer one is always aware of the history and you always remember the great players who have been part of the Ashes history,” he added.
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