Liverpool loving Moeen Ali centre of Ashes drama after unbelievable U-turn text from Spurs fan Ben Stokes

Boyhood Liverpool fan and England cricket star Moeen Ali has become the talk of the Ashes ahead of the prestigious competition's return this week.

The first test between England and Australia starts on Friday and this year's meeting between the two giants is being billed as the most exciting match-up since the famous 2005 series thanks to a new aggressive style of cricket ushered in by England head coach Brendan McCullum.

Ali wasn't to appear in the matches having retired from Test cricket in September 2021 but an injury to spinner Jack Leach led to captain - and Tottenham Hotspur fan - Ben Stokes knocking on the Birmingham-born star's door.

Ali said: "To be part of it is amazing. It's such a big series and the guys have been playing exciting cricket. Stokesy messaged me with a question mark - 'Ashes?'. I just said 'LOL', thinking he was taking the mick. The news came through and I had a chat with him. That was it."

It will give an added interest to the Ashes series for Liverpool fans who can cheer on a keen Reds fan in Ali, who cut short a family holiday in the Cotswolds after having that chat with Stokes.

As well as following Jurgen Klopp's side, Ali has played cricket with departing Liverpool star James Milner in the past and left the footballer saying he 'needed a helmet' after struggling to deal with the cricketer's spin. The Ashes star has also shared praise for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's cricket skills - the midfielder was offered a trial by Hampshire as a youngster.

Ali has also shared how the England squad would pass the time watching Test matches by chatting about football. He told The Athletic: “There is usually a lot of football chat in a cricket dressing room. What the scores are, who’s scored, who’s playing well — we talk football so much. Most of us play Fantasy Premier League too."

Ali also explained his love for Liverpool since a young age, despite growing up in the Midlands.

He said: “I just followed them and I’ve supported Liverpool since. Even when we’ve had bad periods we’ve always won trophies. There was a massive dip with the team at one stage… well, many stages, but we’ve always had great games, great comebacks. It’s great being a Liverpool fan.

“Anfield feels like a sacred place in terms of the history and the crowd. The fans manage to make noise that — I might be biased — not many teams in the world can. Especially in England.

"I’ve been to many games at Old Trafford or wherever — another great ground — but it’s a completely different atmosphere. There’s something special about Liverpool and Anfield. It’s a great place to watch football."