Moeen Ali to captain Birmingham Phoenix men's team in inaugural edition of 'The Hundred'

England all-rounder Moeen Ali will lead the Birmingham Phoenix men’s team in the inaugural edition of ‘The Hundred’ slated to be played next year, the tournament’s official website confirmed on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_6093131” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Moeen Ali. Reuters[/caption] The 32-year-old player said that it is a great honour and he is looking forward to playing for the side in the tournament. “It means a lot. Being from Birmingham in a new tournament, a new way of playing the game, I am very excited. I cannot wait,” Ali said. He added that the Birmingham Phoenix is a good side in terms of experience and said it will be fun playing alongside a “friend” like Ravi Bopara. “I have some good friends in the side. Someone like Ravi (Bopara) who I played a lot with when I first played for England. It is a great side in terms of experience and there is a lot of youth as well,” he said. The new white-ball cricket is a 100-ball per innings format. In the matches, a change of end will take place after ten balls and bowlers can deliver either five or ten consecutive balls. Each bowler can deliver a maximum of 20 balls per game and each bowling side gets a strategic timeout of up to two and a half minutes. Moreover, The Hundred tournament will have a 25-ball powerplay start for each team and two fielders will be allowed outside of the initial 30-yard circle during the powerplay. These playing conditions have been recommended by ECB’s Cricket Committee.