‘That is the dream’ - Moeen Ali eyes future England coaching role

Moeen Ali has spoken about his ambition to become a top-level international coach after his playing career comes to an end, even harbouring dreams of a future role with the England men’s team. The 38-year-old, who retired from international cricket in 2024, is currently in Dubai and will join Ben Stokes for a coaching stint with the England Lions during their white-ball camp in Abu Dhabi.

Over the past few months, Moeen has been a globe-trotting presence on the franchise circuit, featuring in the Caribbean, Canada, the UAE and Bangladesh. The coaching arrangement is informal, with Moeen and Stokes set to be part of the backroom staff alongside Andrew Flintoff. Adil Rashid’s elder brother Amar Rashid, Neil McKenzie, Sarah Taylor and Neil Killeen are also part of the coaching 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. It is a great opportunity. I am looking forward to that, big time,” said Moeen to ESPNcricinfo.

Moeen is keen to deepen his coaching knowledge and has been preparing to obtain the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Level Three qualification. His father, Munir, was his first coach and runs the Moeen Ali Cricket Academy, while his brother Kadeer and cousin Kabir serve as assistant coach at Worcestershire and bowling coach at Warwickshire, respectively.

“I used to coach for my dad’s academy, before I played for England. 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,” said Moeen.

Moeen is firmly old-school and technique-oriented, believing that the game has sacrificed technical excellence in the pursuit of entertainment brought by T20 cricket. He also feels that England’s recent 4-1 series defeat in Australia, where they lost the Ashes in just 11 days, stemmed, at least in part, from lapses in technique at crucial moments.

“I am a massive believer in technique. I always have been. 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,” said Moeen.

“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 began his career as a specialist batter who bowled occasionally and believes he can coach spin bowling exceptionally well. However, when it comes to coaching England, he feels that opportunity is still a long way off.

“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 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!,” said Moeen.

“But when you are playing club cricket or domestic cricket, you feel like England’s miles away… Things can change. Things can happen quickly. 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 concluded.