Ashes 2015: Moeen Ali stars to keep England just on top of Australia after day two in Cardiff - The Mirror

Moeen completed a classy innings of 77, before dismissing the world's No 1 batsman and the captain of Australia - to keep this compelling First Test in the balance

It’s not the first time a bloke called Ali has floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee in a monumental sporting rumble.

And it's not the first time a chap with a vast beard has been centre of attention in an Ashes Test either.

Moeen Ali will never be referred to as 'The Greatest' like his namesake Muhammad and he'll never possess the arrogance of fellow bearded wonder WG Grace, who once replaced his bails after being bowled, declaring 'they've come to watch me bat, not you umpire'.

He is a modest character and an under-rated cricketer, Moeen.

But he completed a classy innings of 77, before dismissing the world's No 1 batsman and the captain of Australia - to keep this compelling First Investec Test right in the balance.

In pictures - Ashes day two

It was a day of incident and intrigue - Mitchell Johnson gesturing that Stuart Broad was soiling himself at the crease, Alastair Cook leaving the field for treatment to his nether regions and Aussie run machine Steve Smith getting out to the shot of a village cricket idiot.

At the end of it, Australia had reached 264-5 - still 166 runs adrift.

But Moeen, currently observing Ramadan - the Islamic month of fasting - showed an appetite for the limelight.

Some doubt whether he is miscast as a front-line spinner and his place in the England team had been under scrutiny.

Yet he led the way as England added 87 runs to their overnight score to reach 430, then pouched the prized wickets of Smith and Clarke to keep the tourists in check as they threatened to make hay as the sun shone above a moribund pitch.

There were many entertaining sideshows. First when Johnson appeared to have Broad caught at short leg and the England man, who infamously failed to walk in the First Ashes Test at Trent Bridge two years ago, headed back towards the pavilion before he was reprieved by an umpire's review which proved Adam Voges had not held it cleanly.

As Johnson retreated to the boundary to loud jeers, he indicated that he felt Broad had been struggling to control his bowel.

Soon after, the man of the series in the whitewash Down Under received an ironic standing ovation as he brought up his 'century' of runs conceded. Johnson responded by kissing his baggy green cap and waving fulsomely but ended up with 0-111.

Moeen played a daring seat-of-the-pants innings - a Chinese cut to bring up his fifty, Johnson failing to catch him on the fine-leg boundary, before he edged Starc to slip.

By then England had reached a par score and they soon had another Pommie-basher from 2013-14, David Warner, on the ropes.

The Aussie opener survived an lbw review from Broad and overturned another leg-before shout awarded to Jimmy Anderson before England's leading wicket-taker had him snaffled by a tumbling Cook at first slip.

Then an edge from Smith bounced in front of Cook and caught him in the crown jewels.

Joe Root laughed sadistically as Cook writhed in agony and the Yorkshireman was soon captaining his country for half an hour as the skipper went off for delicate treatment.

Smith savaged Moeen with 13 off five balls but when the off-spinner darted one down the leg side, the world's highest-ranked batsman twisted his body and was falling as he picked out Cook at short mid-wicket.

Cook's captaincy was inventive, while England bowled aggressively, yet Chris Rogers had advanced past a world-record equalling seventh successive Test half-century and was five short of a ton when Mark Wood made him his first Ashes victim, caught behind.

Then came Ali's next golden moment as he took a sharp return catch to dismiss Clarke for 38, before Adam Voges surrendered his wicket with a loose drive at Ben Stokes.

England may be ahead by a whisker - though not one as lengthy as Moeen's.