Abu Dhabi: Star all-rounder Moeen Ali sees nothing wrong in rival teams trying to “copy” the much-talked-about England template in white-ball cricket following their resounding success in global events.
With their recent triumph in Australia, England became the first team to hold the ODI and T20 World Cup trophy in the same cycle.
Eoin Morgan brought about a radical change in mindset and playing style following England’s dismal campaign in the 2015 World Cup and Jos Buttler is carrying forward his legacy.
An important member of the English white-ball team, Moeen feels it is natural for other teams to emulate their aggressive approach to the game. He also drew a parallel with the all- conquering Australian team of the 1990s and early 2000s.
“The template was spoken about long ago. I feel we have become a better team now. Morgs (Morgan) did a brilliant job to change the mindset, which is the hardest part, to put the template there.
“Now we can adapt to different conditions, different teams, use different bowlers in the death and there is flexibility in the batting order. This team is going to get even better,” Moeen told PTI on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi T10 League.
On the England template which has become the benchmark in international cricket, the 35-year-old said: “Whenever a team is winning, for example Australia. They used to win all the trophies. Everyone wanted to copy them. Now England have won 50 over and T20 world titles and teams want to copy us.”
England had lost to India and South Africa at home earlier this year and Moeen said it was a timely wake-up call for them.
“We played South Africa and India in the summer. They beat us because they were playing the same brand of cricket we were playing.
“So we knew we had to get better and it is a good template to follow. I won’t be surprised if other teams follow that template,” said Moeen, who is captaining the Morrisville Samp Army here.
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—PTI