February 22, 2026 12:31 am (IST)
Follow us:
The Ashes
London/UNI: England spin bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali has come out of retirement to be added to the Ashes squad for the first two Tests.
Moeen, who had retired from the longer format in 2021, reversed his decision following discussions with Test captain Ben Stokes, Head Coach Brendon McCullum and Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket Rob Key.
He replaces Jack Leach, who was ruled out of the five-match series after sustaining a low back stress fracture.
"We reached out to Mo (Moeen Ali) early this week about returning to Test cricket," said Key.
"Having had a couple of days to reflect, Mo is excited to join the squad and play Test cricket again. His vast experience, along with his all-round ability, will benefit our Ashes campaign," he said.
“We wish Mo and the rest of the squad well for the Ashes campaign,” Key added.
Moeen has played 64 Tests so far, picking up 195 wickets and scoring 2914 runs and will be looking to better the stats.
England will reach Birmingham on June 12, beginning practice at Edgbaston from June 13. The first Test will begin from Friday, June 16.
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Joe Root, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Dan Lawrence, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Josh Tongue, Moeen Ali.
Ashes schedule
1st Test: England v Australia, 16-20 June, Edgbaston, Birmingham
2nd Test: England v Australia, 28 June-2 July, Lord’s, London
3rd Test: England v Australia, 6-10 July, Headingley, Leeds
4th Test: England v Australia, 19-23 July, Old Trafford, Manchester
5th Test: England v Australia, 27-31 The Oval, London.
2nd Test: England v Australia, 28 June-2 July, Lord’s, London
3rd Test: England v Australia, 6-10 July, Headingley, Leeds
4th Test: England v Australia, 19-23 July, Old Trafford, Manchester
5th Test: England v Australia, 27-31 The Oval, London.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
'Momentum in right direction': Unbeaten West Indies focus on Super 8 after routing Italy in T20 World Cup
Thu, Feb 19 2026
India U20 women to play four friendly matches against Swedish clubs
Thu, Feb 19 2026
Shai Hope to the rescue! West Indies survive Italy scare with crucial 75 at Eden Gardens
Thu, Feb 19 2026
Yuvraj Samra scripts history! First associate nation batter to smash T20 World Cup century
Tue, Feb 17 2026
England edge past Italy despite Ben Manenti’s stunning counter-attack in T20 World Cup
Mon, Feb 16 2026
Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Yousuf blast PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi after Pakistan’s humiliating T20 World Cup loss to India
Mon, Feb 16 2026