NASSER ON MOEEN ALI
England spin king is a force for good in troubled times
There is a lot of pride, as a former captain, in watching england win, as they did so well at Old Trafford against South Africa, but I don’t think I have ever been so proud as when I watched them after their fourth Test success.
That pride came when Alastair Cook led the way in making sure Moeen Ali was included in all the celebrations and pictures, before the man of the series moved to one side to let his team-mates spray the obligatory champagne everywhere.
It was clear the rest of the squad appreciated everything Moeen stands for, not just as an outstanding cricketer but also as a man of Islamic faith who has become such an important sporting figure in our country.
They would not pop any champagne corks anywhere near him and that showed the values of the team and the respect they have in making sure there was no belittling of their team-mate’s beliefs in any way.
Moeen Ali is now one of the most significant cricketers of this generation because of that faith and because of his crucial status as a role model for British Asians.
The way he behaves makes him so impressive. You know who the most popular members of the team are when they come out to bat. With england, Ben Stokes always gets a huge roar because of the way he plays, then Moeen is right up there because of the whole package and what it means to the nation for us to have someone like him.
It is a sign, in many ways, of how far we have come. With everything that is going on in the world, the cheer Moeen gets from cricket fans of all backgrounds shows how popular he is and how well he copes with being a role model. Lots of British Asians must want to be Moeen Ali now.
When I played against India or Pakistan in this country, there would be British Asians calling me a traitor.
I must emphasise there was never any malice, more pantomime banter stuff — and even in recent times there were some India fans who booed Moeen at edgbaston in his home city of Birmingham.
Conversely, whenever I played in India there was a lot of warmth and pride shown towards me because I was a bloke who had been born in Chennai to an Indian father and english mother and who went on to captain england. It is clear Moeen is very proud of his Pakistani heritage but he is also incredibly proud of coming from Birmingham and being an englishman.
he wants kids like him to aspire to play for england, as I did.
We have just had a Champions Trophy here and whenever India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka played, you could see just how cricket- mad their english- based supporters were.
Why are we still not tapping into that market and producing more england cricketers from those backgrounds?
I used to see loads of talented young kids, third or fourth- generation British Asians, at my dad’s cricket school in Ilford when I played and you could see and appreciate their love of the game.
Now I watch a lot of essex age group cricket and the sides are filled with British Asians, but for some reason too few of them come through at the highest level. We must make sure they are not lost to the game because it could make such a difference to them and us for them to be fully integrated. But it is complicated.
When Lord Tebbit said in 1990 that you could test the ‘ loyalty’ of immigrants by finding out which country they supported at cricket, my mum got involved and said how strongly we backed england.
I have to say, though, that if I ever moved to Australia I would still support england and I would expect my kids to do so as well, at least initially. But if they were to buy into living in that country, that would eventually have to change.
My family came to live in essex when I was five or six and my heroes were all either english, such as David Gower and Graham Gooch, or european like Seve Ballesteros. When england played cricket I always supported them. I can honestly say
racism was never a problem for me growing up and playing cricket, but there were times when culture became an issue.
Once I was netting at Old Trafford before facing Pakistan and two young British Asians started telling me how Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were going to get me. I looked at them and thought: ‘I know they are your heroes but how about wanting to play for, or supporting, England?
I talked about it publicly afterwards and Imran Khan came back by saying it was easy for me to say that, being ‘white’ and having gone to an English private school. It wasn’t so easy for others from Asian backgrounds to feel included.
They were fair points and it’s true I wasn’t brought up to be in any way religious. I’ve never spoken my dad’s first language but I’ve always been extremely proud of my Indian side and always will be.
The bottom line is that Moeen has become an outstanding cricketer. He makes batting look so easy and is Gower- esque in his strokeplay, and he has learned to bowl off- spin while playing for England.
That’s remarkable when you consider he had been a part-time spinner in county cricket.
I have to be honest, I would have loved and hated captaining Moeen. The frustration would come because there might be three men out on the hook and next ball he would hit it straight to one of them.
There must be a temptation as a coach to drag him to one side and say, ‘Mo, do you know how much ability you’ve got?’
But it is to England’s credit that they handle him well and Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace realise that’s what makes him the cricketer he is. Moeen has enough on his plate without worrying too much about the wider picture, but he doesn’t have to think too deeply about it. He just has to carry on being himself.
He has become one of England’s best players and, without being too heavy about it, can be a force for good in troubled times.
We are blessed to have him in so many ways.