Moeen Ali

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This article is about the cricketer. For the dramatist, see Ali Moeen.
Moeen Ali
File:Moeen Ali Worcestershire Cricket.jpg
Personal information
Full name Moeen Munir Ali
Born (1987-06-18) 18 June 1987 (age 36)
Birmingham, West Midlands, England
Nickname Moe, The Beard to be Feared
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Batting style Left-handed
Bowling style Right arm off break
Role All-rounder
Relations Kadeer Ali (brother)
Kabir Ali (cousin)
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 662) 12 June 2014 v Sri Lanka
Last Test 26 December 2015 v South Africa
ODI debut (cap 232) 28 February 2014 v West Indies
Last ODI 20 November 2015 v Pakistan
ODI shirt no. 18 (previously 57)
Domestic team information
Years Team
2005–06 Warwickshire
2007–present Worcestershire (squad no. 8)
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 20 31 142 132
Runs scored 849 797 8,274 3,647
Batting average 26.53 29.51 37.10 30.14
100s/50s 1/4 2/3 14/52 9/16
Top score 108* 128 250 158
Balls bowled 3,474 1,498 14,438 3,727
Wickets 61 33 217 87
Bowling average 35.67 36.42 39.25 38.17
5 wickets in innings 1 0 6 0
10 wickets in match 0 n/a 1 n/a
Best bowling 6/67 3/32 6/29 3/28
Catches/stumpings 12/– 11/– 88/– 39/–
Source: Cricket Archive, 30 December 2015

Moeen Munir Ali (born 18 June 1987), or simply Moeen Ali, is an international English cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and right-arm off-spin bowler who played county cricket for Warwickshire before moving to Worcestershire after the 2006 season. As of 2015, Ali represents England in all formats of the game. He won Warwickshire's NBC Denis Compton Award in both 2004 and 2005. His off-spin is marked by a strongly spun off-break and a well-concealed arm ball. He was named one of the Cricketers of the Year in the 2015 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.[1]

Early life

Ali is Muslim, of Pakistani descent, and was born in Birmingham.[2] He belongs to the Mirpuri community; his grandfather migrated to England from Mirpur, Azad Kashmir.[3][4] He can understand Urdu and Punjabi.[5]

Career

Warwickshire

Ali signed for Warwickshire aged just 15, hitting a half-century for the county's Second XI a few days before his 16th birthday.[6] After more games at this level in 2004, and a first outing for England Under-19s against their Bangladeshi counterparts he spent the succeeding winter playing for the Under-19s on their tour of India.

2005 saw Ali make his first-class debut, against Cambridge University in May. He impressed with the bat, making 57 not out in his only innings, and sent down two overs for 15 runs. Playing that summer against Sri Lankan Under-19s, he starred in the final "Test" by making 52 not out and 100 not out (the latter innings from 56 balls) and claiming seven wickets. He was then selected for the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, which was held in Sri Lanka, and was immediately promoted to captain by coach Andy Pick. He made three half-centuries in the tournament, and took seven wickets.

Ali received additional opportunities for his county in 2006, playing his first List A games. The first of these came against Derbyshire, where he dismissed Steffan Jones to claim his maiden first-team wicket. He also took his first wickets in first-class cricket, and his first three victims were all Test players: Stuart Law, Dominic Cork and Dave Mohammed. With the bat he scored 68 on his County Championship debut against Nottinghamshire, then equalled that score against Durham.

Ali's opportunities were somewhat limited, however, and Alex Loudon took his place in the side. In July 2006, with the expiry of his Warwickshire contract only months away, Ali brushed off rumours of a move to Worcestershire, saying "I don't know anything about it",[7] but in September it was announced that Ali would indeed be leaving to join that county. The player himself said that he had been impressed by Worcestershire and felt it gave him the best prospects of furthering his career.[8]

Worcestershire

He made his debut for Worcestershire in their ten-wicket win over Loughborough UCCE on 25 April 2007, but had a rather poor game, returning 0–92 off 16 overs and being dismissed for 12 in his only innings.

Ali's highest first-class score of 250, scored against Glamorgan at New Road, featured a partnership of 219 with Matt Pardoe.[9]

At the end of the 2010 season Worcestershire secured promotion to the first division of the County Championship.[10] After he was overlooked by the England Lions and England Performance Programme at the end of the 2010 English season, Moeen opted to play club cricket in Bangladesh at the suggestion of Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. Shakib played for Worcestershire as their overseas player in 2010 and the link with the club led to Moeen representing Mohammedan Sporting Club in the Ispahani Premier Division.[11]

2011 Season

During the 2011 season Moeen spent three weeks as Worcestershire's acting captain while the usual club captain, Daryl Mitchell, was injured. Though he had captained England Under-19s, it was the first time he filled the role for his county. As he was inexperienced, Moeen approached senior players Vikram Solanki and Ben Scott for advice.[12]

Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was Worcestershire's overseas player for a short time in 2011 and while at the club he encouraged Moeen to try bowling the doosra.[13] Moeen had to wait until July before registering his first century of the season, and his first since September the previous year.[14] His innings of 158 runs from 244 balls against Somerset was in vain as Worcestershire succumbed to an innings defeat.[15] The following month Moeen twice scored a century in the Clydesdale Bank 40 only for Worcestershire to lose, against Sussex and the Netherlands.[16][17] In the first match against Sussex he passed his previous best score of 136 in List A cricket, scoring 158 runs from 92 balls.[16] In Worcestershire's first season back in the first division, Moeen scored 930 runs in the County Championship, making him the club's second-highest run scorer in the competition behind Solanki. Moeen average 33.21 runs per innings and scored a single century.[18] On the back of his performances for Worcestershire, Moeen was included in the 13-man England Development squad which trained in late 2011.[19]

2012 Season

In February 2012, before the start of the English season, Worcestershire's director of cricket Steve Rhodes commented that Ali's doosra was "not too difficult to pick at the moment but he's learning a few tricks and he's got other things up his sleeve. It's a work in progress".[13]

2013 Season

After the departure of former England international Vikram Solanki at the end of the 2012 season Ali was handed a new 5-year contract.[20] After performing well, including five consecutive 50s, Ali was called up to the England Lions where he scored 61 runs against Australia[21] with many calling for him to be selected for the full side.

Moeen averaged 62 in Division 2, totalling 1375 runs altogether - the highest of any batsmen in first class cricket and finished with 4 centuries and 8 fiftys as well as 28 wickets. He was awarded county cricket's MVP award[22] beating Samit Patel on the final day of the season and was also named PCA player of the year.[23] Ali was also called up to the England development squad ahead of their Australian Ashes tour.

International career

File:Moeen Ali during a match against Sri Lanka at the R.Premadasa.JPG
Moeen Ali playing for England in 2014

2014 West Indies

Ali was included in the English Squad for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.[24] Before the tournament, the squad played the West Indies in a limited overs series, and Ali made his ODI debut against the West Indies on 28 February 2014.[25] He scored 44 runs before being dismissed and took his maiden ODI wicket.[26] In the second match he made ten runs and took figures of 1-11. Ali was again impressive in the third match, making his first half century in a score of 55. He ended up scoring 109 runs and picking up 3 wickets in the three match series. He made his T20 debut in the second match of the T20 series,[25] although he scored just 3 runs and did not bowl.[27] In the final match of the series he batted at 7 but was run out for 3 runs.

2014 World T20

Ali was a part of England's world T20 squad. He managed 49 runs in 4 matches and ending up wicketless.[28] His tournament got off to a good start with him hitting 36 against New Zealand, and bowling 1 over for 7 runs. In the second game against Sri Lanka, he was dismissed for a first ball duck, although only four runs came of his over. Against South Africa he managed 10 runs and bowled two overs for 17 runs. He had a poor final match against the Netherlands, bowling 1 over 13 runs and being dismissed for just 3.

2014 Sri Lanka and India

File:Moeen Ali bowling against Sri Lanka on their tour of Sri Lanka.JPG
Moeen Ali bowling against Sri Lanka in 2014

Ali was named in the England Test squad for their series against Sri Lanka,[29] before making his debut in the first Test.[30] Ali made a score of 48 in the initial innings but only made 4 in the second. However, in the second Test of the series he made his maiden century in the second innings having started the final day with England on 57 for 5. England lost the match when Jimmy Anderson was caught off the penultimate ball of the match having survived 55 balls.

In the first Test against India, Ali took four wickets in the match, as well as scoring 14 with the bat. In the second match he made scores of 32 and 39, but could not prevent England from losing to go 1-0 down in the series. In the third test against India at the Ageas Bowl, he took his first 5 wicket haul in test cricket, finishing with 6-67 in India's second innings. He followed this up by taking figures of 4-39 in the fourth test, taking the prized wicket of MS Dhoni. This helped England win the game and take a 2-1 series lead. Ali only played a small part in the final match of the series, making 14 with the bat as England steamrolled India to win the series 3-1. Ali did not play in the first three ODIs against India. However, he was selected for the fourth match of the series and hit a quick fire 67. However, this was not enough to prevent a nine wicket defeat for England. In the final match of the series Ali took 2-34 to help England win their first match of the series. He was out for a duck in the only T20 match between the two sides, although he did take a wicket as England went on to win the game.

In the first ODI of the seven-match series in Sri Lanka, Ali hit 119 off just 87 balls although it was not enough to prevent a defeat for England. In the second game he could only score two, although he did finish with figures of 1-38. In the hire match he scored 58 and took figures of 2-36 as England won their first match of the tour. He was less impressive in the next two games, making just 23 runs and taking one wicket in the two matches combined. He hit 34 in the penultimate match of the series, although he again failed to take a wicket. In the final match he took figures of 2-39 but was later out for a duck as England lost the match and the series 5-2.

2015 Tri Series

Ahead of the Tri series against Australia and India it was announced that Ali would keep his spot at the top of the order for England. He scored 22 in the first match of the series against Australia as England lost the first game of the tournament. In the following match against India Ali scored eight with the bat and took 1-31 with the ball. He made 46 in the next game against Australia and also took two wickets, but England lost the match. In the must win game against India, Ali took 2-35 to help England reach the final. However, despite Ali taking a wicket in the final they lost the match to Australia.

2015 World Cup

In the first match of England's World Cup campaign against Australia, Ali made 10 with the bat and failed to take a wicket as England suffered a heavy defeat. He made 20 in the next match against New Zealand as England suffered a humiliating eight wicket defeat. He scored a century in the next match against Scotland, making 128 from 107 balls to help England to a score of 303. He also took two wickets in Scotland's innings as he earned the man of the match award. He was less effective against Sri Lanka, making just 15 and taking figures of 1-50 as England lost the game. This meant they had to beat Bangladesh to qualify for the Quarter finals, but they suffered defeat, with Ali making just 15 as England failed to chase down 275. Injury ruled Ali out of the final game against Afghanistan, which England won.

2015 West Indies and New Zealand

Due to his injury at the World Cup, Ali was not initially selected for the West Indies tour.[31] However, after recovering, he was called up for the Second Test Match of the series.[32] In the first innings, Ali took figures of 1-47, and was run out for a duck. In the West Indies' second innings his bowling figures were 3/51, and he was not required to bat in England's second innings as they went on to secure a nine wicket victory to lead the series 1-0.[33] In the second Test Moeen made 58 in the first innings. However, he was disappointing with the ball, taking just one wicket. He made just eight in the second innings as England collapsed to post just 123. Moeen took 1-54 in the second innings as the West Indies won to level the series at 1-1.

In the first Test Moeen scored 58 in England first innings to help them fight back to post 389. He then took three wickets in New Zealand's innings. He again impressed with the bat, making 43 in England's second innings and taking a wicket in New Zealand's second innings to help England win by 124 runs. In the second Test Moeen was less impressive. He failed to take a wicket in New Zealand's first innings and was then dismissed for just one. He took a wicket in New Zealand's second innings but again failed with the bat as England lost the second Test to draw the series 1-1.

2015 Ashes

Ali was selected in the England side for the Ashes. In the first Test he scored 77 in England's first innings before taking two Australian first innings wickets. He then took 3-59 in Australia's second innings as England secured an opening win. Ali could only manage figures of 1-138 in Australia's first innings of the second Test and then managed 39 with the bat. He took 2-78 in Australia's second innings but England suffered a heavy defeat. He scored 38 runs in England's first innings of the third Test and then took 1-64 in Australia's Second innings as England won by 8 wickets. In the fourth Test he was again not needed to bowl in Australia's first innings but made 38 with the bat as England secured a victory by an innings and 78 runs to regain the Ashes. In Australia's first innings of the final Test he took 3-102 and then made scores of 30 and 35 and England lost by an innings but won the series 3-2.

International centuries & five-wicket hauls

Test centuries

Moeen Ali's Test centuries
# Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year Result
1 108* 2  Sri Lanka United Kingdom Leeds, England, United Kingdom Headingley Stadium 2014 Lost

One Day International centuries

Moeen Ali's One Day International centuries
# Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year Result
1 119 6  Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Colombo, Sri Lanka R. Premadasa Stadium 2014 Lost
2 128 20  Scotland New Zealand Christchurch, New Zealand Hagley Oval 2015 Won

Test five-wicket hauls

Moeen Ali's Test 5-wicket hauls
# Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year Result
1 6/67 5  India United Kingdom Southampton, England, United Kingdom Rose Bowl 2014 Won

Controversy

Moeen Ali wore "Save Gaza" and "Free Palestine" wristbands in connection with the Gaza conflict during day 2 of the third Test match of the 2014 series against India. The ICC code bars players from "conveying messages which relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes". According to the ECB, Moeen's stance was "humanitarian, not political" and a spokesman stated that "the ECB do not believe he has committed any offence." Later in the match the England team wore shirts sporting the Help for Heroes logo, and a minute's silence was observed by both teams to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War.[34]

Although Moeen had been cleared by the ECB to wear the bands, the decision was overruled by the match referee, David Boon.[35]

Charity work

Ali is an Ambassador of StreetChance, a programme providing free weekly cricket coaching sessions in deprived areas in the UK, run by the Cricket Foundation and Barclays Spaces For Sports.[36] In January 2015, he joined Orphans in Need, an international NGO, as a Global Brand Ambassador and carried the charity's logo on his bat.[37]

Awards and nominations

In January 2015, Ali was nominated for the Best at Sport award at the British Muslim Awards.[38]

International Awards

Test Cricket

Man of the match awards

  • In this table Ct., refers to the Catches
# Series Season Match Performance Result
1 1st Test – Basil D'Oliveira Trophy Test Series 2015/16 1st Innings – 0 (4 balls); 25-3-69-4
2nd Innings - 16 (27 balls: 2x4); 26-9-47-3		  England won by 241 runs.[39]

One-Day International Cricket

Man of the Match awards

S No Opponent Venue Date Match Performance Result
1 Scotland Hagley Oval, Christchurch 23 February 2015 128 (107 balls, 12x4, 5x6)  England won by 119 runs.[40]

Twenty20 International Cricket

Man of the match awards

# Series Season Match Performance Result
1 England vs Australia in England 2015 72* (46 balls, 6x4, 3x6); 4-0-39-1.  England won by 5 runs.[41]

References

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  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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