Star Spinner Moeen Ali Turns Southampton Hero

"My favourite player in This England Team is Moeen Ali," says five-year old Judith. "Moeen Ali is the star of the series. He is taking wickets and scoring runs as well," says Christina who bunked college to be at the Ageas bowl on the final day of the 3rd Test.

The English spinner could well be mistaken as a resident of Dasht-e-Tanhai, an utopian territory created in the North of England by Nadeem Aslam in his book 'Maps for Lost Lovers' but he is the summer sensation for the English just as Monty Panesar was when Rahul Dravids' team came here back in 2007. Walkers had come out with the Monty hot and spice masala. Moeen Ali is still to get that adulation but his popularity is on the rise.

The English Board see him as a player of immense value and potential. And that's why they put their weight behind the soft spoken Ali when questioned by the ICC about his wristband in on Gaza conflict.

Indian fans though have been saying that the Men in Blue have played him with a lot more respect that he deserves. "Surely he isn't bit a bowler of Harbhajan Singh's class but you are making him look like one. That's not done," says Dr Hanif Sinai, an NRI engineer in Southampton.

Ageas bowl is one of the few English venues where an Australian has a huge fan following. It isn't hard to guess who the man is. He played for Hampshire for 8 years and these days gets chased down for fan selfies. Wizard of Oz Shane Warne tells me the autographs have been replaced by selfies. Everyone wants one and it isn't easy these days to get from the commentator's box to my car because everyone wants make the best use of his camera.

It is easy to get star struck sitting in the press box. There are a galaxy of greats doing their rounds. From Andrew Strauss to Rahul Dravid, the elegant southpaws Sourav Ganguly and David Gower, the eloquent ones like Ian Bottom, Michael Holding have shifted from making their bat/ball do the talk to talking on the TV.

Talking cricket is one of the best ways to bond with strangers in England. The animated crowd, high on ale knows its cricket well and even appreciates the opposition. So 85 year old Rose Pingleton told me while exiting the stadium, " we love your cricket team. They gave us our money's worth of entertainment  by playing football longer than cricket today."

The sleepy town of Southampton was woken up by the buzz generated by the cricket in the city. About 2000 people flocked into the venue on each of the five days. England playing well may have added to their enthusiasm but what they also came to watch was Dhoni's army. MS Dhoni' announcement at Lord's about him not coming back to England again to play Tests ave left a few disappointed fans. Many of them are turning up to see him go out on a high.

Unlike in 2011 when most fans had turned up to watch Sachin Tendulkar in England, there are fewer such fans now. These fans may be expats but their heart is with India. And despite being a Pakistani the loudest cheer was reserved for Moeen Ali in Southampton.