Moeen Ali (right) and Steven Finn have been ruled out of the warm-up match against a Western Australia XI
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
England all-rounder Moeen Ali and pace bowler Steven Finn have both been ruled out of the first two Ashes warm-up matches as they are nursing injuries.
Moeen and Finn will miss the two-day warm-up game against a Western Australia XI and the four-day match against Cricket Australia XI at the Adelaide Oval, which begins on November 8.
Moeen complained of pain in his left side, while Finn sustained a left knee injury while batting in the nets.
Both players underwent scans on Friday, but while Moeen is likely to make a quick recovery, Finn’s injury could be more serious.
It is unclear what the scans revealed about Finn’s knee, but it is understood that he was hit on the knee or edged the ball onto it while he was batting.
Moeen is set to take part in full training sessions by mid-November, while Finn will be monitored by England’s medical staff for the next seven days.
Finn was a late addition to the squad as he replaced all-rounder Ben Stokes, who was withdrawn from the side due to his alleged street brawl outside a nightclub in Bristol.
Moeen’s injury will be more of a concern for England as he is their other high-profile all-rounder. Losing him for a significant amount of time would be a massive blow, especially as they are already without Stokes.
Continuing on about Stokes, England have yet to name another vice-captain ahead of the first warm-up match, which begins on Saturday at the WACA.
Speaking about the issue, England captain Joe Root was quoted by Sky Sports as saying: “Hopefully that will happen in the next week or so. Leading into the two four-day games it would be nice to have that nailed down by then.
“With the experience there is around the dressing room and the approach the other lads have, we help each other out all the time.
“They are very approachable and very good to work with, for me as well. I don’t think it’s too much of an issue in terms of what it adds to the squad.
“More than anything it’s making sure that whoever is vice-captain is fully aware that if I am off the field, they are going to be the one in charge.”
Root added that the warm-up match will be a golden opportunity for everyone to try and impress ahead of the first Ashes Test on November 23 in Brisbane.
“It’s a great opportunity for guys to stand up and stake their claim and it’s really important those lads have that mental approach going into these fixtures,” he said. “When they get the chance they have got to try and impress. You have got to be able to perform under that pressure if you want to perform in Ashes cricket.
“We are going to have to play well as a side and perform as a group and there can’t be a selfish mentality out in the middle.
“It’s going to have to be about doing your job within the team, not worrying about individual performances and make sure collectively that if someone has had a bad day, someone else steps up.”