The man who made Moeen - father Munir Ali reveals how the all-rounder went from medium pacer to Lord's hero

The Englishman's dad discusses how his bowling suggestion changed the then-15-year-old's future

Moeen Ali's return of 10 for 112 was the best by an England spinner at Lord’s since 1951 (Getty)

A 15-year-old Moeen Ali was struggling with an injury when the then medium-pace bowler was handed a box of balls by Warwickshire bowling coach, Steve Perryman.

“He used to bowl seamers but one afternoon he had a back ache,” says Moeen’s father, Munir.

“I said to Steve, who was the bowling coach for both the first and second team at the time, that I thought Moeen had a very good action as an off-spinner and asked him if he would take a look at him and give me his opinion.

“He gave Moeen a box of balls, there were six in there I think. After three or four, he picked the box up, walked over to him and said ‘Right, that’s it. No more seamers – with an action like that you could play for England as an all-rounder, bowling off-spin.

“I think he was partly joking at the time but turns out he was dead right.”

England have every reason to be thankful for Perryman’s intervention, particularly after his former charge picked up his first 10-wicket haul in Test cricket against a hapless South Africa at Lords this weekend.

In between he also brought up his 2000th Test run and 100th Test wicket in a Test that Moeen is unlikely to forget in a hurry.

Moeen picked up 10 wickets to kick off the English summer (Getty)

Munir was at Lords on Saturday but missed out on his son’s glorious first innings 87 spread over Thursday evening and Friday morning and his 6-53 as Joe Root’s men skittled the tourists for just 119 on a sun-baked Sunday afternoon in St John’s Wood.

“Perhaps I should stay away more often,” he says. “I locked myself in a room to watch it yesterday afternoon and I was just like a child. I was just so excited. I was texting people after each wicket, it was just incredible to watch.”

Almost as amazing as Moeen’s passable impression of Graeme Swann – the off-spinner who, it was widely believed, would be impossible to replace.

Admittedly his Test bowling average of 39.35 is still higher than he or England would like but it’s his strike rate which is perhaps more relevant.

Moeen’s 108 wickets in the longest format have come every 63 balls – only three more than Swann managed throughout his 60-Test career.


 Moeen turned the Test in England's favour with the ball 
 (Getty)

Moeen went wicketless throughout the Champions Trophy last month but his performance at Lord’s clearly illustrates his importance to the England Test side. It also adds greater weight to the feeling that the time has come to shed the ‘part-time’ prefix that has accompanied his bowling since he played his first Test back in June 2014.

“I’m not surprised that he has achieved so much with his bowling, but despite everything he has done it still amuses me that people see his bowling like that,” says Munir. “Look at his record, at home and abroad – and that’s from a cricketer whose prime responsibility was always really to score runs.

“People still see him and they still doubt him as a bowler. I think even batsmen sometimes see him as a part-time spinner, a batsman who bowls a little bit. Every time that happens, though, he answers them.

“I would hope that people begin to change their opinion but you never know. He’s labelled as a part-time bowler, they were even talking about it yesterday, but I think his record suggests the opposite.”

Moeen has shown an inability to enjoy success with both bat and ball at once (AP)

What isn’t up for debate is the fact that Moeen is now a flag-bearer for the British Asian community – a cricketer who is, in his quietly and understated way, inspiring the next generation of talent.

Munir, who runs one of Birmingham’s most well-respected cricket academies, is seeing at first hand the impact that his son is having.

“He’s a great role model, we get loads of young kids coming to our academy because of his name and because of what he has done with England,” he says.

“It’s very important for British Asians. Very often they can think that they’re not going to be given the same opportunities but Moeen is the prime example that if you work hard and you’re good enough then you will get a chance.

“I tell the other boys ‘as long as you’re good enough and as long as you work hard then you can play at whatever level you want. There are no barriers.”

Irresistible with the bat and unplayable with the ball, Moeen’s Test summer has got off to a dream start. After a nightmare start at Lords, South Africa will hope it’s downhill from here on in.