MOEEN Ali may have thought his opportunities to play for England had come and gone — but England and Wales Cricket Board performance director David Parsons believes he could be ready to make the long-awaited step up.

The 26-year-old is a former England under 19 captain and took part in an England Performance Programme way back in 2007.

He has accumulated more than 100 first-class appearances at Warwickshire and Worcestershire but it wasn’t until this summer at New Road that he fulfilled his early promise.

Ali racked up 1,420 first-class runs at an average of 59, earning himself a call-up to the England Performance Programme squad this winter.

Parsons, who has been in charge of the squad since 2007, admitted it was too soon to know if Moeen is ready for international cricket but his season with Worcestershire is a promising sign.

“Some players take a while before they cross that bridge to someone who is mature and ready to deliver consistently,” said Parsons.

“I think Moeen is now 26 and has taken a while to get to that place — truthfully we do not know yet if he has made that move fully.

“I have known Moeen since he was about 10 or 11 and he has always been recognised as a player with potential.

“He has had a fantastic season but our job will be to try and make some opportunities for him to demonstrate that he is now ready to deliver his skills on a consistent basis.

“He has been on a personal journey as well, I don’t sense any impatience from him, and the other added bonus for him is that he also bowls and that potentially provides more opportunity for him.

“As we have seen with Joe Root who can fill that second spinner role and if Moeen can improve that side of his game as well then more opportunities will come his way.”

Moeen is part of a 16-man England Performance Programme squad and among the 13 following the Ashes touring party to Australia this month.

The much-vaunted programme has seen recent graduates Root and Jonny Bairstow go on to establish themselves in the senior set-up with Gary Ballance hot on their heels.

Moeen joins a lengthy list of England Test match hopefuls with the bat but none out-performed him in county cricket this summer and Parsons hopes that spending time in Australia around 12 other ambitious cricketers will bring the best out of the Worcestershire man.

“This is about preparing them for England,” he added.

“There are certain things that aspiring young cricketers who have not got 70 Tests to their name have to do to earn the right to behave like international cricketers.

“So we work them very hard, we look to challenge them wherever we possibly can.

“One of the mantras we use is taking them to the edge of their capabilities.

“To really put their skills and put them under pressure and see how they will react because that’s where the best improvement comes from.

“These guys are soon going to have to play in these environments so it’s a massive benefit to have them there, in challenging conditions, rather than just spending a whole winter in Loughborough where you are always having to simulate.”

n Follow the England Performance Programme squad and their progress this winter at ecb.co.uk/epp