Moeen Ali, the England allrounder, has endured a miserable Ashes to arguably be his team's most disappointing performer. With star allrounder Ben Stokes missing the series, England hoped the explosive Moeen would step up and fill the sizeable hole. Unfortunately for them, Moeen had a nightmare series with both bat and ball, and would have been dropped for the fifth Test if not for a late reprieve due to an injury to Chris Woakes.
After starting the series in the key No.6 slot, Moeen scored just 179 runs at an eyesore of an average of 19.88 and his off-spin bowling - such a menace in the UK and India - fell apart against Australian batsmen increasingly having little regard for him. Moeen took just 5 wickets at 115 for the series and the 30-year-old's future is now under a major cloud.
Moeen will be glad to see the back of his tormentor Nathan Lyon after being seemingly under a hex from the wily off-spinner. Moeen had no clue on how to play his opposite number and was promptly dismissed seven times in the series by Lyon - equalling a record for most dismissals by a bowler over a batsman in a series.
Heat Policy Joe Root, England's captain, was only able to bat an hour on day five and retired unwell. He was first feared to have suffered severe dehydration before being diagnosed with a viral gastroenteritis bug. Root had been in the thick of oppressive temperatures for much of Sunday (January 7) with temperatures hitting 57.6 degrees in the middle of the SCG at one point.
"He was up all night. The heat had taken its toll," Jimmy Anderson, the England paceman, told reporters on Monday.
It re-started the debate over whether the International Cricket Council should rethink its heat policy, which currently states that a match cannot be delayed due to hot weather. Sydney grade cricket is cancelled at about 41 degrees and the policy was enforced last February due to oppressive conditions.
Some sports have a heat policy, notably tennis where officials in the ongoing Sydney International tournament had to activate the policy just 30 minutes into the day's play on Sunday.
Dean Jones, the former Australian batsman who famously was ill amid scorching heat in Chennai during his innings of 210 in 1986, believed cricket chiefs needed to enact a heat policy. "After speaking to a couple of doctors this morning, in my opinion cricket should be called off after 41C. It's a workplace issue now. Just my opinion," Jones wrote on Twitter.
Brett Greeves, the former Australian quick, echoed Jones's sentiments. "It is something that cricket needs to address from a player safety perspective," he wrote on Fox Sports. "Because ultimately that level of heat can break you in ways you can't imagine. It is why the Sydney International tennis tournament suspended its play. Tennis cares."
Standing Ovation It was a tough day for Root but there was a heart-warming moment when he bravely walked out to bat an hour into the day. The England captain came out to a standing ovation from the Barmy Army, who sung with gusto their beloved song 'Joe Root' - a mishmash of the Beatles classic Hey Jude.
Root only managed to bat for an hour before succumbing to illness and retiring at lunch on 58 not out but earned plaudits from his opposite number. "He showed a lot of courage to come out to bat," Steve Smith said. "You could see he was struggling after he ran (between the wickets).
