In the recently concluded Test series between England and India, one batsman reached new heights by discovering his bowling prowess thanks to a fragile and timid Indian batting line up. There can be no doubt that he was selected for his batting ability to add strength to England’s middle order which had been found wanting over the last year or so. Accordingly, Moeen Ali was meant to play the role of a consolidator if the top-order batsmen failed.

Moeen was not considered a specialist bowler, someone who could end up getting 20 odd wickets in the series. Yes, he is a handy spinner, a part-timer or someone a team uses to get through overs quickly in the middle of an innings or to give rest to its premier bowlers.

One might say that any wickets taken by Moeen would be a bonus for the team. However, the series saw the coming of age of Moeen as an off-break bowler, someone who bamboozled the Indian batsmen.

Although I take nothing away from him in terms of his bowling, in my opinion it is too early to declare him a world-class bowler. It is too early to consider Moeen as a threat to any team in the world.  First, it was his first proper Test series.  Second, in my opinion some credit of his success should go to the English fast bowlers. If the pattern is observed, one can notice that from the third Test match, the Indian batsmen had started to falter against the swinging ball and were not applying themselves at all. The pressure imposed by the fast bowlers and the struggle of the Indian batsmen were so great that the moment Moeen came to bowl, the batsmen breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a little too much, allowing Moeen to pick up wickets.

I did not see a lot of variation from him in the series apart from good old plain off-break bowling while giving the ball a lot of air and loop, even though one expected Indian batsmen to play him better. The inability of the Indian batsmen to score against the pacers had such a tormenting effect on them that even a part-timer like Moeen was able to trouble them and pick up wickets. A perusal of the wickets also discloses that most wickets were handed to him out of sheer frustration due to their inability to score, hence the low scores.

It is this aspect that stops me from counting Moeen even as a full-time bowler. As the series went on and the troubles of the Indian batsmen against the moving ball became apparent, Moeen wasn’t needed as such, a prime example being the final Test in which the Indian batting completely capitulated to swing and pace.

On the other hand, he still has a lot to worry about in terms of his batting. In my opinion, he should focus on his batting and cementing a place in the top-five as he is yet to tour abroad. It remains to be seen how he performs in the other parts of the world and whether he adds variation to his bowling.

There was much talk of him being advised by teammates to bowl the line Greame Swan would ball and too tweaking the ball a little more than he usually does which did help him but I just can’t help but think that his role as a bowler in the team remains temporary. It’s almost like the batsman Moeen was overshadowed by the deceptive off-break bowler.

Moreover, Moeen could be a one-series wonder and many such examples come to mind. One such example is the prince of Calcutta, Saurav Ganguly, who in one of the Sahara Cup series was unplayable by the Pakistani batsmen. The likes of Sohail, Anwer, Malik and Inzamam struggled against his medium pacers, because the overcast conditions of Canada suited him.

Thereafter, Ganguly never took as many wickets in any series. He rather focused on his batting and continued to achieve great heights for India as a batsman and as the captain. Similarly, Moeen ought to develop his batting and focus on it. Moeen has a healthy average in first class and his hundred earlier in the year against Sri Lanka proved that he possesses all the necessary ingredients to do well at the top level. Those crisp drives through the offside and the ability to pull almost at will were delightful sights.

Also, the ease with which he bats is pleasing to the eye and he seems to be a natural timer of the ball, which shows he has excellent hand-eye coordination. I wish him well for many upcoming series and hope to see Moeen Ali the batsman prosper into a world-class player.