Having settled his absence with coach Brendon McCullum, he will not take part in England’s session that morning. As a result, he will only have trained with the team twice before the start of the series.
“I’ve been trying to book it for a while, but I haven’t really had a date yet,” said Moeen. “I got this date after a long time. I talked to Baz and he said it was good.
“I bought a suit, a three-piece suit. It’s going to cook. I had to buy a new suit. My mom and dad love it. I’m taking it with me, and my wife. We’re going to enjoy the day.”
His decision to reverse his retirement from Test cricket and become available for the Ashes led to a substantial change of plans. Moeen had expected to captain Warwickshire in the T20 Blast in June and July, admitting his wife, Firoza, “wasn’t too thrilled” when he first broached the idea with her.
“I did book some family vacations,” he said. “There weren’t many. [We were going to] the Cotswolds, nowhere big. It was more like a family gathering with my in-laws…nothing major. My wife wasn’t thrilled, but everyone around me was.
“In the back of mine [Test] career, she knew I wasn’t enjoying it as much, and that I was much happier with how things were going and how I was enjoying my cricket [over the last two years]. So that took a lot of convincing.
“The last thing I’d like to do is say ‘yes’ and not fit in and do everything right. One thing I really want to make clear is that I’m going to try to give everything I’ve got – more than I did before , probably — and being a huge part of what could be a huge series. I want to be involved.”
Moeen admitted that the fact that the first test will be held in Birmingham, where he lives, has “made a little difference” in his decision-making. “It wasn’t a huge part, but it was helpful because I live just around the corner and I can still see my family in the evenings,” he said.
He also clarified that his comeback had nothing to do with Rishi Sunak, the British Prime Minister, calling on England to “send an SOS to Moeen Ali”. Moeen said, “That didn’t convince me… I really made up my mind for that.”