Moeen Ali admitted that Sunday’s T20 World Cup final was the most nervous he has been in an England shirt after playing a key role in the run chase against Pakistan.
Set 138 for victory, England lost top order wickets and found scoring difficult on a challenging surface but Moeen’s 19 off 12, including three fours in the crucial 17th over, helped swing the momentum.
Th all-rounder was dismissed by Mohammad Wasim soon after but by then the game was effectively won, with Ben Stokes the man to see England home with an unbeaten half-century.
Moeen, England’s vice-captain and long-time stalwart of the white-ball set-up, had never previously been on the winning side in a global final, having lost the T20 World Cup to the West Indies in 2016 and then been left out of the XI that beat New Zealand at Lord’s in the 50-over edition three years later.
"Being at the back end of my career, I felt like this was the most nervous I’ve ever been for a game," the 35-year-old said.
"It felt like the biggest game I’ve ever played in because obviously I was so desperate to win it. I feel like as a team we deserved it. I’m absolutely buzzing.
"To win the World Cup after 2016, missing out in the final, then the semi-final (last year) where we probably felt we should have won, and then coming out here, it was an amazing performance."
Moeen, meanwhile, bemoaned the “horrible” schedule that means several of England’s World Cup winners have little time to celebrate before beginning a three-match ODI series against Australia on Thursday.
Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt and Chris Woakes are all also included in the squad, though the likes of Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and Harry Brook will have a short break before joining England’s Test squad ahead of the tour of Pakistan.
"Those kind of things are a shame and, you know, as a group we want to enjoy and celebrate and have that (time) because you put so much into it as well," Moeen added.
"Having a game in three days’ time, it’s horrible. As players we’re kind of getting used to it now. But to give 100 per cent all the time is difficult when you’re playing every two, three days."
