Mike Gatting surprised by Moeen Ali Ashes recall

England great Mike Gatting has expressed surprise at Moeen Alis dramatic Ashes recall after nearly two years out of Test cricket warning that Australia will look to target the offspinning allrounderAli 35 was persuaded to end his retirement from Tests by skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum this week after regular spinner Jack Leach was forced out of the fivematch series with a stress fracture in his backGatting a gutsy batsman who led England to victory Down Under in the 198687 Ashes said he found the recall hard to fathom When I heard it I couldnt quite understand it because obviously Moeen doesnt want to play Test cricket and I dont understand why he wants to come back for this Gatting said at a charity event in Bangkok on ThursdayAli an elegant batsman and morethanuseful spin bowler has played 64 Tests for England taking 195 wickets and scoring 2914 runs But Stokes and McCullum have made a bold aggressive approach dubbed Bazball the hallmark of their team and Gatting said he thought they could have made a more forwardlooking choice to replace LeachYouve got a guy called Rehan Ahmed who got fivefor in his debut Test against a good Pakistan team and hes been doing reasonably well in T20 Gatting saidI suppose theyve really gone for the real safe optionThe 18yearold Ahmed became Englands youngest mens Test cricketer on his debut in Karachi in December putting in an impressive performance against a strong Pakistan side But there are fears about exposing him to the pressure and intensity of an Ashes series too early in his careerAustralia have been tough opponents for Ali with his career bowling average climbing from 3666 to 6465 in Ashes cricket and Gatting warned that Pat Cumminss men would look to target himHe hasnt played much Test cricket and its very difficult to get back into Test cricket when youve been out of it for so long said Gatting 66Whoever bowls spin for us theyre going to get afterAli will turn 36 during the first Test which begins June 16 at his home ground of EdgbastonAlso Read Moeen comes out of Test retirement for AshesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever