MOEEN FINDS AN OBE IN HIS JUNK FOLDER!

MOEEN ALI almost missed out on his OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours – because the notification by email went straight into his junk folder.

England’s World Cup-winning all-rounder and trailblazer for British Asians in sport is included in the Platinum Jubilee cast of gongs for services to cricket, notably 225 appearances for his country across all formats.

But Moeen, whose highlights reel includes a Test hat-trick and eight international centuries, revealed his gong was nearly lost in etherspace.

He missed the initial message alerting him to his nomination, but a routine check call to Worcestershire, his county employers, set him on course for a date at Buckingham Palace.

Moeen (above) laughed: “It gets sent through on email and it actually went straight to my junk. I didn’t see it for ages.

“I got a message from Worcester saying the person who emailed me was trying to get hold of me. They said, ‘You’ve got some important news’. So then I got through and it was a great surprise.”

Moeen’s influence as a role model has stretched far beyond the boundary rope since he was first picked by England in 2014.

As a Birmingham-born cricketer of Pakistani heritage, he has been a beacon for inclusivity - in a system ravaged by allegations of discrimination and a proud Muslim.

He said: “It’s not about runs and wickets. I think it’s more about the journey I’ve been through. It’s my background, my upbringing and all those kinds of things I’ve been through throughout my life.

“Even if I was to finish my career tomorrow, it’s be nice to be recognised in this sort of way, in this sort of capacity.

“From the word go, as soon as I played for England, people labelled me as being a potential role model.

“It’s a big responsibility because you don’t want to let people down.”