Moeen Ali admits he dislikes the Australian cricket team and finds it difficult to feel sorry for the players banned in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal.
England all-rounder Moeen, who was part of the squad that got hammered 4-0 in the Ashes last winter, believes the Baggy Greens had it coming.
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“They are the only team I’ve played against my whole life that I’ve actually disliked,” he told The Times.
“Not because it’s Australia and they are the old enemy but because of the way they carry on and [their] disrespect of people and players.
“I’m someone who generally feels sorry for people when things go wrong but it’s difficult to feel sorry for them.”
The 31-year-old admits he struggled with both bat and ball when England were heavily beaten in last winter’s Ashes Test series. In fact, playing down under has not given the Worcestershire player much joy generally.
“The first game I played against them, in Sydney just before the 2015 World Cup, they were not just going hard at you, they were almost abusing you,” he added.
“That was the first time it hit me. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, but the more I played against them they were just as bad, the Ashes here [in 2015] they were worse, actually. Not intimidating, just rude.”