MOEEN Ali is ready for war as England take on a New Zealand side expected to feature three former Rapids.

England face the Black Caps in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup today at 2pm with Moeen once again expected to feature for Chris Silverwood’s side.

The opposition could feature three former Worcestershire players in Martin Guptill, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi.

If Moeen is once again handed the new ball, he is likely to be in direct competition with Guptill, who has so far scored 176 runs in the competition at an average of 35.2.

Moeen will be well aware of the ability Guptill possesses, the Kiwi having impressed in his two years at New Road helping the side win the Vitality Blast in 2018 before finishing runners-up the following year.

Guptill’s most devastating performance in Worcestershire colours came in the 2018 season when he smashed a 35-ball century against Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Wantage Road as the Rapids successfully chased down a 188 target in just 13.1 overs.

It was the second quickest T20 century in England and led to Guptill winning the Walter Lawrence Trophy for the fastest domestic hundred that year.

Santner meanwhile spent two spells in Worcester in 2016 and 2017, the first was cut short by injury, while fellow spin bowler Sodhi put in some remarkable displays this summer just gone as the Rapids narrowly missed out on the Blast knockout stages.

With the bat Moeen hasn’t yet had much chance to shine thanks largely to the exceptional performances of Jos Buttler.

Three runs off four balls in England’s opening match was a less than impressive start for Moeen while his second innings saw him face just two balls as he finished with one run, not out.

However, Moeen’s most recent performance, in England’s final Super 12 match against South Africa, saw him hit 37 off 27 balls following an injury to opener Jason Roy.

With Roy out for the remainder of the tournament, Moeen and the middle order will likely be called upon more than they have so far this tournament.

In the other semi-final, Australia will take on Pakistan on Thursday, with Worcestershire 2022 signing Matthew Wade in their line-up.