SKIPPER Joe Leach insists the returning Moeen Ali is “worth two players” for Worcestershire Rapids in their Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final showdown with Surrey at New Road tomorrow (11am).

The all-rounder has been made available to Worcestershire after England’s eight-wicket hammering by Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final.

Moeen's inclusion will be a welcome boost for Worcestershire.

The Rapids will be without hard-hitting top-order batsman Tom Kohler-Camdore who has joined Yorkshire.

“Moeen is worth two players to us,” said Leach.

“He will come in at the top of the order with the bat and is brilliant at that but then also his off-spin bowling was fantastic in the group games he played.

"He turned the game against Durham when we looked like we were struggling.

“He turned it almost single-handedly in the middle period and enabled us to kick start the win there and he scored runs at Leicester.

"He is international pedigree and we are excited to have him back."

Leach admitted he watched England’s last-four clash against Pakistan on Wednesday with mixed emotions.

Had Eoin Morgan’s side beaten Pakistan, Moeen would not be available for Worcestershire.

Instead, Moeen would have been included in England’s squad for Sunday’s Champions Trophy final at The Oval.

"I wanted England to be win to be honest, and Pakistan were superb, but there is the added bonus of having Moeen back,” said Leach.

"But obviously Surrey get strengthened as well because they have Jason Roy coming back into their side. He is a brilliant striker of a cricket ball.

“I don't think we would have had much issue with the balance of our side either way to be honest.

"But Moeen coming in at the top of the order does help us out a little bit.

“It means guys don't have to change the roles they've been playing in the group stages too much.

"Also Moeen was here for a lot of that group stage for us (five out of eight games).

"It is not a fresh face coming in for a one-off game. Everyone knows their roles and that has to be a good thing going into a big game."

Leach is relishing the opportunity to lead Worcestershire Rapids into battle.

He believes the experience of the 2015 and 2016 quarter-final appearances in different competitions will stand the squad in good stead.

It will be Worcestershire's 25th semi-final appearance since knockout cricket first appeared in the early 1960s.

“We probably haven't done ourselves justice the last couple of times but that's all part of the development of what this side has been through now,” he said.

"I think we are ready and that means in big games we need to be ready as well and I've every confidence that we will be absolutely fine and rise to the occasion.

"Defeats obviously hurts a lot at the time but you put it in the experience bank and you move on.

"We've got a good side in Surrey coming here.

"But we go into the match with every confidence that we can put on a good show.

"If we play somewhere near our best, then we will be in contention."