Bears' Moeen to finally make Pears reunion

Moeen Ali made his first Bears appearance in 13 months last Sunday at Trent Bridge

Moeen Ali has been here, there and everywhere and done this, that and that again in his two decades in cricket.

A World Cup winner in 50-over and 20-over cricket, who's also won the IPL and T20 Blast.

A haul of 298 England appearances with 68 Tests, 138 ODIs and 92 T20s.

A Midlands-born Anglo-Asian role model and global superstar who, as one of the ultimate cricketing guns for hire, has taken his unique talent to light up franchise cricket in countries including Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and South Africa.

But it was with Warwickshire, and then 16 years at Worcestershire where he first made his name.

On Friday at Edgbaston he will do something he has never done before - at the age of 37, Moeen will play for the Bears against the Pears.

"It'll be a bit strange, but I've a job to do," Moeen told BBC Radio WM. “It’ll be an emotional night, a packed house and an incredible atmosphere. The biggest Blast game of the season.

"We say it doesn’t matter who you play against, it’s all about winning games, but the reality is that Friday at Edgbaston will be extra special for me.

"I don't think I have ever played against Worcestershire before."

Other than youth and second XI cricket, where he played against Worcestershire at Kenilworth in 2003, he has not.

In first-class, List A or T20 games.

Moeen has faced the Bears 14 times in T20 cricket since joining the Pears as a teenager in 2006 - but this will be his first derby since re-signing.

It is a fixture that should have happened a year ago after Moeen's time at New Road came to an end and he made his way back to his native Birmingham.

But instead, having previously retired from Test cricket, England captain Ben Stokes tempted him back to come and play in the 2023 Ashes series - which began at Edgbaston.

"Last year I was planning to be part of the whole competition for the Bears but then the Ashes came along and you just can't turn that down," Moeen added.

"It was unfortunate not to play for the Bears but it was amazing to be part of such a talked-about series. It would have been even more amazing if we'd won, but it still helped me finish on a high."

Having been recalled to England's red-ball team for the first time in almost two years, that Ashes series started with Australia's First Test win at Edgbaston, in which Moeen made 18 and 19, and took three wickets.

Having perhaps crucially missed the second Test, the third Test brought him his 200th first-class appearance before he won the last of his 68 Test caps against Australia at The Oval - in a game England memorably drew to square the series.

Following another busy winter playing abroad, he made his return from England's failed attempt to retain the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean to make his first Bears appearance in 13 months last Sunday.

He took two wickets as Notts were bowled out for just 57 in the Blast at Trent Bridge - and did not even have to bat as the Bears eased home in just 31 balls to extend their lead at the top of the table and all but secure a quarter-final place for a fourth year running.

“It’s great to be back playing for a side in form," he said. "But this is a side who have been playing well for a few years now in a settled system. Now I'm free to play in all the remaining games and maybe we can go all the way this year.”

One of Moeen Ali's finest Edgbaston moments was in 2018 when he lifted the T20 Blast Trophy as a Worcestershire player

The Bears now take on the only team in the North Group with as bad a record as Notts - a Worcestershire side who are one place off the bottom, having also won just three times in 10 games after Thursday's home victory over Leicestershire, and whose batting coach is Kadeer Ali, Moeen's elder brother.

“There will be a lot of emotions," said Moeen. "I’ve lots of good friends at New Road and my brother is there.

"I played there for 16 years and it taught me a lot, about cricket and how to get where I've got to.

"Steve Rhodes was the one who signed me and the likes of Damien D'Oliveira, Daryl Mitchell and Vikram Solanki all helped me too, but Bumpy [Rhodes] was massive for me.

“It’s going to be difficult because I was there for many years. But I’m excited first and foremost. There’s a job to be done, so obviously I’ll be doing my best to beat them. Once I cross the line I’ll do what I need to do to win."

Moeen took seven wickets and scored 439 runs against the Bears in those 14 T20 derby games, including 115 off just 56 balls at Edgbaston in 2018.

That was part of a dream summer for him in Birmingham as he had also hit 114 off 75 balls in a dramatic One-Day Cup win for the Pears there two months earlier - his last List A innings at domestic level.

And he was to return to Edgbaston in September to lift the T20 trophy with Worcestershire, leading from the front too as he hit 41 in both the semi and the final - and took five Finals Day wickets.

Now is it time he began to give a bit back?

Moeen Ali was talking to BBC Radio WM sports editor Richard Wilford.