Grace and skill make Moeen Ali a gem

England won by a distance in Cardiff and did so in great style. Impressively, all eleven players made their mark on the match at relevant times and therefore suggested that a crack unit has formed. Incredibly, the team given no chance a week ago have become favourites with the bookmakers. Nervous at the toss on Wednesday morning, Alastair Cook was washed over with joy by the time he faced the media late on Saturday afternoon. His interviews were crisp and smart. His appreciation of the qualities in his men came over loud and clear.

Let us reflect on the one most unlikely. Two months ago, Moeen Ali was coaching - inspiring we should say - school children at Bethnal Green in his role as an ambassador for Chance to Shine. The kids, from a variety of mainly ethnic backgrounds, hung on to his every stroke, ball, catch and word. Moeen is not one for the limelight. He neither appeared to be having the best time of his life, nor the worst. In fact, he might as well have been an ambassador for that old saying: "It's never as good as you think it is and it's never as bad as you think it is."

This equable temperament has served him well. His parents had feared that a lack of opportunity would prevent him from making much of an exciting talent. But they gave him every chance. No money or privilege, two brothers with similar talents and similar needs, a wreck of a car shared by two families to get them from game to game and barely a patch of green anywhere to replicate the real thing. Not easy, though Moeen has fond memories of the struggle. In those days he was obsessive and under-achieved because it. He thought about cricket 24/7 and it brought little of the happiness he had imagined. Thus, he began to wonder about the point of it all and went in search of different answers.

Soon these were found in religion. He prays five times a day and from such attention comes a greater peace. Through the Ashes he will observe the discipline of Ramadan. It will take more than Australian cricketers to faze him. He studies their idiosyncrasies and is waiting for a verbal volley. But the words will be wasted on a man who has found inner calm. It is the quality of people that most fascinates him - Cook is high up his list - and the fact that play is so often a reflection of personality. Conversely, his own introspective character has resolved to take the game on, as if he already understands that time waits for no one.

This is best illustrated in his batting which appears to be utterly fearless. If you have batted at any level you know how damned infuriating it is to get out. The moments after are riddled with masochistic analysis and regret. Some have thrown bats though windows or from one end of dressing-rooms to another. Others have banged their head on concrete. Moeen prefers the prayer mat. Famously, the kind hearted Graeme Hick cleared his own space in the Worcestershire dressing room so that the county's young twelfth man could follow the rhythm of his faith. In the current climate, the Muslim journey is complex and challenging. Moeen will do much, dare one say it, for the belief. His unwavering commitment supports all aspects of his cricket, not least those moments when he wafts at a wide one and nicks it to slip.

Mark Taylor, the former Australian captain, said that Moeen's strokeplay reminded him of David Gower - with footwork. The qualification was with tongue in cheek but the observation is worthy. Most batsmen would defend the balls that Gower saw as opportunities to attack. From the top of the bounce, he used his wrists to find spaces either side of midwicket and his forearms to hit anywhere from backward point to wide mid-off. Exquisite timing gave his play an almost electric effect. The shock was how hard the ball was struck with so little apparent effort. Ease, grace, imagination and impact made Gower irresistible to both opponent and audience.

Moeen has this in him too. Has there ever been a Test No. 8 quite like him? It is the Gilchrist effect. Just when the bowling side saw the light, Adam Gilchrist - at No. 7, a spot higher than Moeen - plunged it back into darkness. Moeen is no Gilchrist or Gower yet but he qualifies as a nightmare opponent. That flashing blade breaks hearts and minds. He scores so quickly that defence soon becomes a necessity unless, and it's a dreadful way to go, the field is set to concede the single and bowl at the other bloke.

Almost by default, England have a jewel. The selectors insist there is no spinner worth a chance so the man with the mighty beard is chosen to bowl off-breaks and, as luck would have it, he can then flay some tired attacks. Genius.

Offspin has changed. Jim Laker took 19 wickets at Old Trafford in 1956 on different pitches than those used today and with a different method. Uncovered pitches led to batsmen staying back in the crease, so Laker bowled more for catches in the leg-trap than to beat the drive. Most offspinners of the age had an arm-ball, bowled with the seam up, that swung away to slip. Thus both inside and outside edge were challenged.

Moeen's art is a work in progress but he has the happiest knack of taking important wickets. Already Kumar Sangakarra, Virat Kohli, Steven Smith, Michael Clarke and David Warner are in his bag. He looks to spin the ball pretty hard, experiments with a top-spinner and has begun to reveal the scrambled seam delivery that Muttiah Muralitharan used so well. There is no sign of a doosra. Perhaps he wants to avoid the police.

His greatest attribute may well be his mind and, specifically, the ability to think like a batsman. It is uncanny how he reads their moves and remains sanguine at even the most violent assault. Most of this game is about doing what the opposition would least like you to do. Moeen has worked that out pretty damn quick. It may suit him that Australia appear hell bent on blasting him out of the attack.

A cult is growing. Fans are donning false beards and responding with ecstatic glee to even the simplest stops in the field. That 70-odd on Thursday morning was a crippler for the Australians, as bad in a way as the first-innings wickets of Smith and Clarke. It was fitting that he finished the match off with the wicket of Josh Hazlewood and found himself swamped by hungry team-mates. It was quite a sight. One for the world to enjoy. To many people, Moeen has been an heroic figure for a while now. The number of admirers grows by the day. Better still, the reach extends into communities that will learn much from the way their hero goes about his life.