Moeen Ali not to bowl in Ashes warm-up match

Perth [Australia], December 8 (ANI): England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who was named the captain of the England XI, will not play in this week's two-day warm-up match against Cricket Australia XI in order to give rest to his spinning finger.

Moeen sustained a cut in his index finger, which is used to impart spin, of his right hand midway during their shocking 10-wicket defeat against Steve Smith-led side at the Gabba, Brisbane.

Despite resting ahead of the second Test in Adelaide, the all-rounder has struggled for effectiveness and has been comprehensively out-bowled by his Australian counterpart Nathan Lyon.

Meanwhile, Moeen also did not even bowl much ahead of the Ashes Test series due to a side strain, which limited his involvement in the warm-up matches.

Confirming the news, the 30-year-old said that his finger needs more time to heal, emphasizing that it gets aggravated every time he begins bowling.

"I probably won't bowl this game. Just so my finger has more time. It needs to heal. As soon as I start bowling, it starts to rip a little.I'm a finger spinner.It's the one thing I need to be 100%. I ripped it in the first game and it's not been easy. I didn't score many runs or take many wickets in Adelaide, so it was a tough game," ESPNcricinfo quoted Moeen, as saying.

"I need a bit more time for healing. It is healing now. I didn't bowl much in the second innings in Adelaide, which was actually quite good for my finger, and hopefully, another five or six days' rest will be quite good for it," he added.

It should be noted Moeen Ali needs more bowling to get back to his menacing best, scalping just two wickets by giving away 98 runs each in the first two Tests.

The two-day warm-up game will start on Saturday at Richardson Park in Perth.

England, who are currently trailing 0-2 in the five-match Ashes series, will play the third Test against Australia, beginning in Perth on December 14.(ANI)