Ben Stokes says the decision to ask Moeen Ali out of Test retirement was based on trusting his gut over his brain, as the England captain issued a positive update on his own bowling fitness ahead of the start of the Ashes on Friday.
Moeen is set to play his first Test match in almost two years when the series begins at Edgbaston in less than 24 hours’ time, the 36-year-old answering an SOS from Stokes and Brendon McCullum after Jack Leach was ruled out for the summer having suffered a stress fracture of the back.
