Moeen Ali claims an Aussie player called him 'Osama'; CA to probe

Add as a preferred source on Google

Melbourne, September 15: England all-rounder Moeen Ali's allegation that he was racially abused by an Australian player during the 2015 Ashes held in England is set to be investigated by the Cricket Australia.

Moeen made the allegation in his autobiography from which an excerpt appeared in The Times. The alleged abuse occurred during the first Ashes Test in Cardiff, in which Moeen made a fine Ashes debut, scoring 77 and taking five wickets in a facile win for the hosts.

"It was a great first Ashes Test in terms of my personal performance," Moeen wrote. "However there was one incident which had distracted me. An Australian player had turned to me on the field and said, 'Take that, Osama'.

"I could not believe what I had heard. I remember going really red. I have never been so angry on a cricket field. I told a couple of the guys what the player had said to me and I think (England coach) Trevor Bayliss must have raised it with Darren Lehmann, the Australians' coach.

"Lehmann asked the player, 'Did you call Moeen Osama?' He denied it, saying, 'No, I said, 'Take that, you part-timer'. I must say I was amused when I heard that, obviously I had to take the player's word for it, though for the rest of the match I was angry."

Earlier, Moeen had claimed that the Australians in the 2015 touring party were "rude" and "disrespectful".

"Everyone you speak to ... they are the only team I've played against my whole life that I've actually disliked," he told The Times.

"Not because it's Australia and they are the 'Old Enemy' but because of the way they carry on and (their) disrespect of people and players.

"The first game I ever played against them, in Sydney, just before the 2015 World Cup, they were not just going hard at you, they were almost abusing you," he said.