England all-rounder Moeen Ali has recalled a shocking incident during the 2015 Ashes when an unnamed Australian cricketer called him “Osama”. According to the all-rounder, the incident occurred during the first Test in Cardiff. In his autobiography, which is being serialised by The Times, the 31-year-old said that following the racial slur, he was “distracted” for much of the Test and had “never been so angry on a cricket field”.
“It was a great first Ashes Test in terms of my personal performance, however there was one incident which had distracted me,” Moeen Ali said as reported by www.dailymail.co.uk.
“An Australian player had turned to me on the field and said, “Take that, Osama.” 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 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 for there is a world of difference between the words “Osama” and “part-timer”. Although I couldn’t have mistaken “part-timer” for “Osama”, obviously I had to take the player’s word for it, though for the rest of the match I was angry,” added the England all-rounder.
“But our eventual triumph and the Cardiff crowd’s reaction to me comforted me that the Australian player represented nobody.”
