Moeen Ali feels Ben Stokes absence will ‘mess up’ balance of England team

The loss of Ben Stokes for the rest of the summer will “mess up” the balance of the England side – but stand-in captain Ollie Pope will keep calm and carry on, according to Moeen Ali.

Having impressed during the 3-0 series win over the West Indies last month, Stokes suffered a torn hamstring while batting for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred.

The injury has ruled Stokes out of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, but the all-rounder could be available again for England’s Test tour of Pakistan in early October.

With Stokes unavailable, England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith could be moved up from number seven to bat at six.

Whatever team Pope leads out in Manchester next week, Moeen believes there will be no drastic changes, despite the significant loss of Stokes both on and off the field.

“First of all, once you lose a player like Stokes, you are not only losing a batter, you are losing the captain, losing another bowler – the whole balance of the team is now messed up a bit actually,” Moeen said.

“Who to bring in, how to balance the side, it is going to be hard work, but I am sure they have already decided or come up with a plan.

“But when you lose someone like Stokes, not just as the all-rounder but just the calibre of Stokesy as a person, as well to have in the changing room etc, it is difficult.

“It is very difficult to replace somebody like Stokesy in the side, any all-rounder really is hard to balance the side up.”

Moeen, who played 68 Test matches, added: “With Popey taking over, I think he will be fine. He has been around for years and around England.

“It has been at the start this whole ‘Bazball’ era. He knows what he wants and is is quite clear.

“But you are looking much for change, I don’t think much will change, he will just carry on.”

Moeen’s own future in England’s white-ball set-up remains to be seen following a thorough review following the T20 World Cup campaign which ended with defeat by India in the semi-finals.

The 37-year-old remains relaxed about the situation, but feels he still has plenty to offer over the shorter format.

“Definitely in the T20s, I consider myself still available, because I still feel like I can perform and do well in T20s,” Moeen said.

“It depends what England decides to do. If they decide to go with a younger side then I think that is cool, especially in 50 overs.

“Whatever they decide, I am happy with that. I have been lucky enough to play for England for a long time.

“If England pick me, then great, but if not, then that is fine as well.

“There is still other leagues you can go to try to play, because the T20 format is one I feel like right now I can still play and do well in.”

Moeen’s immediate focus is on The Hundred finals weekend, with Birmingham Phoenix set to face Southern Brave in the men’s eliminator at the Oval on Saturday.

After thrashing Manchester Originals by nine-wickets in a rain-hit clash at Edgbaston, Phoenix were edged out of top spot by Oval Invincibles on net run rate.

“We are absolutely buzzing with being in the eliminator,” Phoenix captain Moeen said.

“Once you are in, you have got a great chance of winning it, but there is obviously two tough teams that you have to overcome to win.

“The guys are really excited. We believe that we deserve to be through and have played really good cricket this year.”