Moeen Ali keen to begin coaching career with England the ‘ultimate dream’

Moeen Ali is eager to earn his coaching stripes in the England pathway next year, as he works towards his "ultimate dream" of leading the national side.

The all-rounder retired from international cricket in 2024 and worked as a mentor to the England Lions as part of Andrew Flintoff's backroom staff in the United Arab Emirates earlier in February.

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At the age of 39 he is still in demand domestically, turning out for Yorkshire in the Vitality Blast and Southern Brave in the Hundred this summer, but is already planning for the next chapter.

The recent decision to put New Zealander Stephen Fleming in charge of the Test team, succeeding his fellow Kiwi Brendon McCullum, put the lack of homegrown options firmly back on the agenda in English cricket.

Managing director Rob Key admitted the production line was not moving fast enough and vowed to offer increased opportunities to English coaches in the future. And in Moeen, a three-format international boasting 298 caps and two World Cup winner's medals, he has a willing candidate.

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"I've been asked about doing Lions stuff quite often but it's been pretty difficult while I'm still playing, I think next year I'll be a lot more available to do that," he told the Press Association.

"After this winter I'll be more free to coach. Whether it's the Lions, the under-19s, whatever they want, it's something I'm really looking forward to doing.

"I want to gain my experience and put in the hard yards as a coach."

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Moeen, who became the first British Asian to captain England in T20 cricket, has spoken previously about his hopes of having a second act to his England career and makes no apologies for setting his sights high.

"The ultimate dream is to coach England, of course, but I know there is a lot of work to put in before that," he said.

"When you're a young player learning to play county cricket the dream is to play for England and it's the same with coaching. You never know how things turn out."

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Although renowned for his flamboyant strokeplay and attacking spin bowling, Moeen's coaching philosophy begins with a solid grasp of the basics that have sometimes gone ignored at the top level in recent times.

"With England batters in particular, we can get exposed big time – lots of bowled, lots of lbws," he said.

"It's about coaching technique, more than anything. I see a lot of coaches who are hands off and let players do their thing, as long as they are happy. But players like to be told sometimes and they don't get told enough these days to be honest."

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