"Stokesy messaged me with a question," stated Moeen Ali. "'Ashes?'"

"I hadn't heard the news on Leachy [Jack Leach] at the time. So I just said 'LOL', thinking he's taking the mick."

Just a few issues to unpack there. A 35-year-old man utilizing "lol" is one among them, even when that is extra widespread than you'd suppose. Not listening to in regards to the damage to the only real Bazball spinner till England's Test captain despatched the type of "you up? x" textual content English cricketers dream of receiving - very a lot one other.

The following day Moeen was at The Grove Hotel as a part of a PCA Team England Golf Day. It was recognized that an strategy had been made and he had been given time to mull it over. But till official affirmation arrived on Wednesday morning, the strongest trace he was up for donning the whites once more was a covert photograph taken by somebody on the resort which had began to realize traction on TikTok.

It reveals Moeen, sporting a Liverpool shirt, flanked by Adil Rashid, in an amiable dialogue with Stokes and managing director of males's cricket Rob Key. In the center of them is a bag from Sam's Chicken.

"That was me and Rash," Moeen confirmed on the bag of fried goodies. "We were hungry and got there a bit late."

A laissez-faire strategy to the seriousness of Test cricket, an appreciation of fried rooster equivalent to that England had showcased final 12 months on an early morning jaunt to Nottingham's Mega Munch after beating New Zealand at Trent Bridge. Moeen was at all times going to slot in, wasn't he?

As he joined his team-mates for his first red-ball coaching session since September 2021, forward of probably the most hotly anticipated dwelling Ashes sequence since 2005, the vibes couldn't have been extra immaculate. Whether that instils you with confidence is one other factor altogether. If sport - ergo, cricket - is crucial of the least-important issues, a five-match Test sequence towards Australia is probably the most least-important. Vibes could solely carry you to this point, even when they've carried this crew to 11 wins out of 13.

The solar shone brightly sufficient on Tuesday to make the Australians really feel at dwelling, who have been glad for the morning session at Edgbaston when an emergency alarm triggered an evacuation of the stadium. No hurt for the vacationers, who merely spent their remaining allotted time on the outfield and the adjoining outside nets.

Moeen Ali, Rob Key and a bag of Sam's Chicken on the Grove Hotel•DealtWithCricket/TikTok

In the tip, it barely impacted on England, who have been out as scheduled for the second half of the day. A crew huddle started with a spherical of applause for Moeen's return earlier than Brendon McCullum stated a couple of phrases. From there, they broke into separate packs.

For the primary time at an open follow session this summer time, Stokes bowled at full pelt. He started with walkthroughs out within the center earlier than pacing out his full run-up with measuring tape to ship down about two-overs-worth of deliveries. He was joined partway by Moeen, who despatched down about as many below the watchful eye of spin coach - and one-time Warwickshire offspinner - Jeetan Patel.

As it occurs, the final time Moeen bowled with a crimson Dukes ball was the day Stokes messaged him. The Birmingham Bears skipper was coaching at Edgbaston forward of Vitality Blast fixtures towards Northants and Derbyshire. "I saw a red ball and had a few balls," he stated. "But not properly."

Among the explanations to concern Moeen's retirement U-turn won't work out, past justified trepidation about his readiness having not performed a first-class match for the reason that final of 64 Test caps in September 2021, is the robustness of his spinning finger.

Having torn it open within the 2017 summer time, he battled by the 2017-18 Ashes, taking simply 5 wickets throughout as many Tests, at an eye-watering common of 115. It re-emerged as a difficulty in the course of the first 2019 Ashes Test, at Edgbaston no much less. Following match figures of three for 137, he sat out the remainder of the summer time.

Time away, maybe, has helped. Even if the workload of a white-ball spinner is pretty restricted, the allrounder has not bowled all that a lot. He despatched down simply two overs in England's profitable T20 World Cup marketing campaign in October, and 26 from 15 matches for Chennai Super Kings within the IPL. There have since been 11 overs throughout three innings for the Bears.

The drawback, nevertheless, is the prouder seam on the crimson Dukes ball, which might actually and figuratively reopen a wound. Moeen, nevertheless, doesn't appear involved.

"There's been many players, past players who played a lot of games and never won an Ashes series. So to have that is amazing. But I'm keen to have number two. The Ashes is huge"

"It's all right, actually," Moeen stated of his proper index finger. "Obviously, I haven't bowled much with the red ball but it seems to be okay. We'll see after I've bowled about 15 overs.

"I've not considered that an excessive amount of. Depends on the stress going into the video games, the hardness of the ball, and all that kind of stuff. I ought to be wonderful."

While the squad picked is for the next two Tests, Moeen is also of the mind this his lot until the end of July.

"If you are in you are in. Baz did say look, even after two video games, when you've finished properly and also you're having fun with it - that is wonderful. He's clearly satisfied that I'll take pleasure in it - that is the plan."

As for the Test tour of India at the start of 2024, that, he says, is too far - though adding "I do not suppose I'll, actually" throws his place in this group into stark focus. This is far from succession planning. But as part of a team that are looking to live in the moment, Moeen, as of last week, has become their latest totem.

He had an offer from the United States to take part in this summer's Major League Cricket, though was not going to go as it would mean reneging on his ECB contract, as Jason Roy has done. With the ODI World Cup in October, the vice-captain is staying put. For now, at least. When asked about 2024's MLC, he offered an open-ended, "We'll see".

Though his recent memories of playing against Australia are not that great, his first series in 2015 is one that those who were there and those who were not are looking to replicate. It was the last time England claimed the urn.

Should he replicate that form of eight years ago, with 12 dismissals and 293 runs with the bat - surpassing 200 and 3000 across his Test career in the process - all this would have been worthwhile. Indeed, it is what drew him out of his Test exile.

"It's a kind of Ashes that nobody actually remembers for some causes," he said of the 2015 series, which England won 3-2. "But it was one among my highlights of my profession for certain, proper up there with the World Cups.

"Because the Ashes is not easy, as we know. And there's been many players, past players who played a lot of games and never won an Ashes series. So to have that is amazing.

"But I'm eager to have quantity two. The Ashes is big."

Vithushan Ehantharajah is an affiliate editor at ESPNcricinfo