Moeen Ali insists England must avoid meltdown in World Cup as he admits they are used to scandal amid Alex Hales failed drug test
- Moeen Ali has urged England to adapt quickly to conditions at the World Cup
- Eoin Morgan’s team will begin the home tournament this month as favourites
- Ali admits unexpected results have brought England players back down to earth
- He believes they have learned important lessons 2017 Champions Trophy
Moeen Ali has urged England to adapt quickly to conditions during the World Cup – or face the kind of meltdown that has occasionally dogged them during their path to the top of the one-day rankings.
Eoin Morgan’s team will begin the tournament as favourites, but they famously went into their shells during the 2017 Champions Trophy semi-final against Pakistan.
Other collective failures include a scoreline of 20 for six against South Africa, a 219-run defeat by Sri Lanka in Colombo in October, and a collapse to 113 all out against West Indies in St Lucia in March.
Moeen Ali has urged England to adapt quickly to conditions at the World Cup
‘We’ve always done that,’ Ali told Sportsmail. ‘We’ve won the series, but we always lost that one game somewhere that’s brought us back down to earth. Over the last four years we’ve had it so many times that we know we can’t afford it now.
‘There are times when we could definitely have adapted better. But there are also times if we were thinking about adapting when we wouldn’t have scored 400.
‘We’ll have to adapt at the World Cup. We’ve definitely learned from the Champions Trophy a couple of years ago.’
Ali, who will play a crucial role as an off-spinning all-rounder, also insisted England would not be distracted by the decision to drop Alex Hales following his failed drugs tests.
Eoin Morgan’s team will begin the home tournament this month as favourites
(From L to R) Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, Joe Root and Moeen Ali of England posing for a picture at the launch of this years NatWest #NoBoundaries campaign
‘We’ve had a few incidents now, so we’ve got used to it a bit,’ he said. ‘We just get on with it, and we know it’s an opportunity for other players to come in and do well.
‘He’s still a team-mate and a friend of ours. He’s made some mistakes and it’s cost him a bit. Obviously you have sympathy with him. I just hope if he needs help he gets it.’
Moeen Ali is a NatWest ambassador, helping champion cricket at all levels as part of this year’s #NoBoundaries campaign, which will see NatWest continuing its work to ensure cricket remains a game for everyone, no matter their background
Ali admits England players are used to the disruption caused by disciplinary issues