Moeen Ali hit a blistering half-century to give England a strong foothold over South Africa in the fourth and final Investec Test match, at Old Trafford.
Stuart Broad wrapped up the South Africa innings early in the morning session to give England a first-innings lead of 136, but the home side wobbled to 153 for seven before Ali’s unbeaten quickfire 67 took them to 224 for eight, a lead of 360, when rain forced an early close to the third day’s play.
Ali believes England are in a strong position to force a victory that would give them a 3-1 series win.
“We put pressure on them and the match has turned our way,” he said. “I think it was a tricky pitch to bat on. We were going well with the first-innings lead we have but we just need to make sure we get a few more runs tomorrow and we are in a strong position.”
The all-rounder did benefit from good fortune when Dean Elgar put down a regulation catch at slip off Keshav Maharaj on 15. “He looked like he had it but it popped out of his hand when he hit the ground. Those things can happen,” Ali said.
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“That was my best Test innings in terms of trying to take the momentum away from them and putting pressure back on them. I had a few hacks but sometimes you get away with them. I felt the situation of the game needed a bit of impetus.
“I have always had the backing from the dressing room to go out and play with some freedom. I decided once I had played a few balls that I was going to play like that. My intent at the start was to back my defence and get through but then I just thought, ‘Why not play a few shots?’ Sometimes it’s the right thing to do and today it came off.”
His innings contained eight fours and three sixes, one of them on to the players’ balcony, which was caught by Jonny Bairstow. The crowd were provided with thrilling entertainment and Ali enjoyed the sound of them chanting his name.
“The crowd here really do get on your side and you ride the wave a bit to keep them going,” he said. “I like to play to entertain both myself and everybody else when I am in the rhythm and mood I was in today.”
Of Bairstow’s catch in the stands, he added: “It was fun. In my head I had already decided I was going to go down the wicket and I just went on instinct and sometimes when I am playing like that I don’t really mind if they have men back on the boundary, I just back myself to hit it. Obviously Jonny caught it and he seemed quite excited about it.”
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Ali said he now felt comfortable with his role in the team and believes his all-round performance highlights that.
“I feel now that I have played quite a bit of Test cricket, my batting and bowling are getting closer together in terms of performances. It’s nice when you do well in one and you can take that confidence into the other. Just the experience of playing regularly is good. There have been times when I could have been dropped and England have always stuck with me, which is great for my confidence. I think that’s one of the best things about England at the moment, we stick with players as much as we can and hopefully I can repay that.
“The one thing that gives me the most enjoyment with the ball is bowling in the last innings. I know in the past I have thought about it too much and the pressure has got to me, but now I try to keep my mind clear and try to spin it as much as I can.”
Despite being on the verge of a series win, England are no closer to solving their batting conundrums before the series against West Indies and this winter’s Ashes. There were failures by Tom Westley (9) and Dawid Malan (6), and the opener Keaton Jennings, who after being dropped when he was on 0, could only go on to muster 18, leaving his average for the series at 15.87. He has been dropped on five occasions during his five-Test career and if those catches had been taken his average would be 7.16 rather than 25.90.
