Moeen Ali received a big honor before the first Ashes Test

England all-rounder Moeen Ali received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) at Windsor Castle. This comes after his inclusion in England’s Ashes squad after their regular spinner Jack Leach was injured and ruled out for the entire summer. Despite not playing red ball cricket for two years, Moeen Ali was included in the England team. However, he was unable to attend a training session on Wednesday to attend the OBE ceremony. He was given permission by England head coach Brendon McCullum, as the trip was pre-arranged.

Moeen Ali said since the first Test will be held in Birmingham, where he lives, it made “little difference” to his decision to make a comeback after retiring from the game last year.

Accompanied by his wife Firoza and parents, Munir and Maqsood, Moeen Ali flew to Windsor for the ceremony. Moeen Ali, dressed in a maroon three-piece suit, proudly displayed his medal with a smile.

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Moeen Ali received an OBE from Windsor Castle for his outstanding contribution to cricket. , pic.twitter.com/sjcTVlObDl– England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 15, 2023

In terms of attending the ceremony, Moeen Ali said, “I have been trying to book it for a while now. I haven’t actually been able to find a date before now but I’m still going. I spoke to Baz (McCullum) and he said it was fine.

Moeen Ali has so far represented England in 64 Test matches, 129 One Day Internationals and 74 T20 matches. He was named in England’s playing XI for the first Test starting on Friday at Edgbaston.

He is set to bat at number eight in the Ben Stokes-led England side as they aim to regain the Ashes for the first time since 2015. Also, he would provide a spin-bowling option for the home team. However, his selection over the more regular red-ball spinners caused some controversy.