England allrounder Moeen Ali has hit out at the sledging and abuse by Australia’s cricketers, saying he was called “Osama” by one player in the 2015 Ashes series.

Moeen has made the claim in his autobiography, Moeen, saying he was racially vilified during the first Test at Cardiff in 2015, where he made 77 in the first innings and took five wickets for the match in England’s 169-run win.

“An Australian player had turned to me on the field and said, ‘Take that, Osama’. I could not believe what I had heard. I remember going really red. I have never been so angry on a cricket field,” Moeen wrote in the book.

The allegation has emerged as part of an extract of the book published by The Times in the United Kingdom.

“Everyone you speak to … they are the only team I’ve played against my whole life that I’ve actually disliked,” Moeen told The Times.

“Not because it’s Australia and they are the old enemy but because of the way they carry on and [their] disrespect of people and players.”

The revelations are sure to further damage the reputation of Australia’s cricketers, already tarnished by the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa earlier this year.

Moeen, 31, says his problems with the behaviour of the Australians began in 2015 when Michael Clarke was captain, even before his struggles with poor form on the most recent Ashes tour.

His troubles with bat and ball were a major reason for England’s 4-0 defeat and led to him being dropped for the first time in his career at the end of the series.

Moeen, who played a major role in England’s 4-1 series win over India after being recalled to the side, said he felt no sympathy for banned trio David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft.

“I’m someone who generally feels sorry for people when things go wrong but it’s difficult to feel sorry for them,” he said.

“The first game I ever played against them, in Sydney, just before the 2015 World Cup, they were not just going hard at you, they were almost abusing you.

“That was the first time it hit me. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, but the more I played against them they were just as bad, the Ashes here [in 2015] they were worse actually.

“Not intimidating, just rude. Individually they are fine, and the Aussies we’ve had at Worcester have been fantastic, lovely guys.”

Moeen admits he struggled against Nathan Lyon during the previous Ashes, and was unable to deal with the “stress and pressure” in Australia.

“I found it very difficult in Australia to switch off,” he said.

Moeen Ali out against Nathan Lyon in the Perth Test of the 2017 Ashes series. Photo: AAP

“It was my first Ashes tour and I was desperate to do well and was really looking forward to it.

“I worked so hard on the short ball before the series began, maybe too hard.

“Then [Nathan] Lyon kept getting me out. I found that very hard to deal with. I never thought that I was a poor player of spin but I really struggled against him.

“I wasn’t getting any wickets either. Things just got tougher and tougher.”

Moeen, born to a Pakistani father and English mother, has said before that he was also taunted by the Australian crowds over his ethnicity.

“Somebody asked me what time my kebab shop opened,” he said in interviews after the 2017 series. 

-with AAP