This time there’s no turning back. Moeen Ali has played his last match for England.
Already twice retired from Test cricket before being lured back on both occasions, the 37-year-old has brought his international career to a close once and for all.
The announcement came as little surprise. Last summer’s Ashes, when Moeen answered the SOS from Ben Stokes to leave his determinedly stylish mark on the spectacle – 10 wickets, useful runs, and a good hand in the Oval win that halved the series – was always meant to be his last dance in Test cricket, and so it proved.
In white-ball cricket, howe...