15 Facts about Moeen Ali: The Beard to be Feared

Moeen Ali has established himself as England’s first choice all-rounder in a short span of time. A batting all-rounder by trade, Ali began as a top order batsman who could roll some off-breaks initially before settling in the lower middle order as a proper spin bowling all-rounder. In fact, it was his bowling abilities which earned him a place in the English side after the sudden retirement of the frontline spinner Graeme Swann had left England team, searching for a suitable replacement. Ali has not looked back since making his England debut and is a vital part of the team now across all formats.

1.Born on:

Moeen Munir Ali was born on June 18, 1987, in Birmingham. He

2. Roots:

Ali is of Pakistani descent and belongs to the Mirpuri community. His grandfather migrated to England from Mirpur in Azad Kashmir.

3. Cricketing family:

Cousins of Moeen, Kabir Ali and Kadeer Ali also play first-class cricket for Lancashire and Gloucestershire respectively, while his own sibling Omar has played in the Minor Counties Championship for Herefordshire.

4. Famous nickname:

Ali is fondly known as “the beard that’s feared” in his hometown and in media.

5. Joins Warwickshire as a 15-year-old:

Ali was signed by county club Warwickshire aged just 15. He quickly impressed with by hitting a half-century for the county’s Second XI a few days before his 16th birthday.

6. Recognition:

The 26-year-old won Warwickshire’s NBC Denis Compton Award on both 2004 and 2005.

7. Highest first-class score:

His highest first class score is of 250, which he scored against Glamorgan while being involved in a partnership worth 316 with Jack Shantry.

8. First Class debut:

Ali made his first-class debut for Warwickshire in 2005, against Cambridge University.

9. Develops the doosra:

Ali is one of very few bow.ers who can actually bowl doosra. During the 2011 season, Moeen spent three weeks as Worcestershire’s acting captain. It was during this time when he met Pakistan off-spinner and Saeed Ajmal, Worcestershire’s overseas player, and learnt the art of Doosra.

10. A work in process for two seasons:

Ali spent a full season learning and developing the off-sinner’s googly. However, he was still very far behind from bowling it like his mentor Saeed Ajmal. 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”.

11. Becomes the first English bowler to bowl a doosra:

Four years after he started fiddling with the doosra, Moeen Ali finally unveiled the mystery ball at the international arena during the 2nd Test against Sri Lankan at Headingly. It was a significant moment in English cricket history. It was slower and more floaty than his normal off-break commented the experts on air. However, it drew a respectful “well bowled” from the batsman who faced it, Mahela Jayawardene.

12. England debut:

Ali made his ODI debut against the West Indies on 28 February 2014. He scored 44 runs before being dismissed and took 1/25 in his 6 overs spell.

13. Test debut:

He made his test debut three months after his OD debut at the Mecca of Cricket – Lord’s against West Indies.

14. 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.”

15. Charity:

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. 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.