Moeen Ali hoping to impress in West Indies series after Joe Root doubt for World Twenty20

Root suffered a thumb injury that has put his participation in doubt with Moeen so far impressing on the tour of the West Indies

England opener Moeen Ali is hoping that he can take advantage of any opportunities that come his way following Joe Root's thumb injury (Getty Images)

Moeen Ali is targeting a place among the England players heading to the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh after a thumb injury put Joe Root's participation in doubt.

Worcestershire batsman Moeen this week scored his first half-century as England beat West Indies by 25 runs to seal a morale-boosting one-day international series victory.

However, his team-mate Root was sent home after X-rays revealed he had suffered a fractured left thumb when facing a ball during his innings in Antigua, although the England and Wales Cricket Board has not yet ruled the 23-year-old out of the World Twenty20 tournament which starts later this month.

The top-order Yorkshireman is also capable of bowling spin and, despite his injury, could feasibly do so in Bangladesh, but England face an anxious wait over his fitness nevertheless.

Therefore Moeen, who described the current atmosphere in the England camp as "phenomenal", is eager to impress with the bat across the three T20 games against the Windies, starting in Barbados on Sunday.

Asked if he was keen to experience tournament cricket with England, he told the ECB's Youtube channel: "That excites me a lot.

"But it's still another week or so away and I don't want to think too far ahead. I'll obviously try to get into the Twenty20 side first and as long as we're winning I don't really care.

"I'm very very happy and it's a brilliant experience to be around top quality players, and to play against good players feels nice and I just want to keep doing well. Every practice means a lot to me.

"I feel very comfortable. The environment that's been created is phenomenal and I feel I have my own space to do my own thing and just contribute in every way."

Despite his recent heroics in the limited-overs format, Moeen knows he has work to do before entering consideration for a Test spot against Sri Lanka or India in the summer.

"I've got to go home and do well for Worcester and I'll see where it goes from there," he said.

"It's so far away so anything can happen - injuries or whatever - so I'm just pleased to be playing for England right now."

PA