Dubai, February 5
Former England cricketer Moeen Ali has expressed his dream of becoming a "top international coach" down the line after his playing days are done and is even "dreaming" of a stint with the Three Lions.
The 38-year-old English all-rounder, who called curtains on his international career in 2024, is currently in Dubai, where he will soon join fellow all-rounder and England Test skipper Ben Stokes for a coaching gig for England Lions' white-ball camp in Abu Dhabi. He has spent his last few months being a globe-trotting franchise cricket attraction in the Caribbean, Canada, the UAE and Bangladesh.
The coaching arrangement for the camp is an informal one and features Moeen and Stokes as a part of the backroom staff with Andrew Flintoff. Adil Rashid's elder brother, Amar Rashid, and Lions regulars Neil McKenzie, Sarah Taylor and Neil Killeen are also a part of the set-up.
"That is the dream. One hundred per cent, that would be the dream (to be an England coach)... I think one day, I would want to be a top international coach. Definitely," said Moeen to ESPNCricinfo.
"It is a great opportunity. I am looking forward to that, big time," added Moeen while speaking on his coaching gig with England Lions, the second-tier England team.
Moeen aims to know his coaching and has been preparing to gain the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Level Three Qualifcation. Besides being a valuable contributor to England's success for a decade, he has been a part of coaching all his life. His father Munir was his first coach and runs the Moeen Ali Cricket Academy. Being a coach runs within their family, with his brother Kadeer and cousin Kabir being assistant coaches at Worcestershire and bowling coaches for Warwickshire's women, respectively.
"I used to coach for my dad's academy, before I played for England," Moeen said. "I used to coach heavily. My brothers all coach and coaching is part of our genetics in some ways. It is a journey that I have always been on," he added.
Moeen's final Test assignment was a drawn Ashes Test series at home in 2023 under the captaincy of Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, who are championing the ultra-aggressive, entertaining, positive, and result-oriented 'Bazball' brand of cricket.
But in contrast to McCullum, Mooen is extremely old-school and technique-oriented, who feels that the sport has lost out on technique while chasing the entertainment that comes with T20 cricket.
"I am a massive believer in technique. I always have been," Moeen says. "I think the one that is lacking in cricket right now generally, with so much T20 cricket - which is great, obviously, in a way - is technique, and having the foundation of proper batting, like in Test matches," he added.
He also believes that England's recent 4-1 series loss in Australia, during which they lost the Ashes series in just 11 days, was due to "bit of a lack of technique at times".
"We [England] got exposed a little bit in Australia, in my opinion, because of probably a bit of a lack of technique at times. Of course, there is the mental side of the game and all that, but I am a big believer in having a good, strong technique first. The foundations have to be good, and then you can develop other stuff as well," he added.
Moeen started as a batter who could bowl occasionally, and he feels he can coach spinners really well.
"I went through the whole journey of almost being a part-timer to then changing and having to go through all that learning on the job... I worked with Saqi and other coaches who were unbelievable. I believe Saqlain Mushtaq (former Pakistan spinner) is a genius when it comes to offspin and coaching it. I learned a lot from that, and obviously, I have batted all my life. Fielding will be my weakest point!," added Moeen.
On coaching England, Moeen feels that "it feels miles away".
"But when you are playing club cricket or domestic cricket, you feel like England's miles away... Things can change. Things can happen quickly," he said.
"I am going to take my time with it to do that, do some punditry, and see which one I like and see which one naturally takes me. I have always been the sort of person that goes with the flow, and I will see what happens, and see where they both take me," he added.
Moeen's next assignment will be playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for Karachi Kings and he reversed his retirement from domestic cricket in England last week. He is all set to wear Yorkshire colours for the Vitality Blast this year.
- ANI
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