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Moeen
The match-winning superstar of the England cricket team finally shares his remarkable personal story in this eagerly-awaited autobiography. Moeen traces his journey from street cricket to the county game and his first-class debut as a teenager, through to his international debut at the relatively late age of 26 and the golden summer of 2017, when he was anointed Player of the Series against South Africa with thousands of England fans chanting his name. But cricket is just one part of Moeen's life. His upbringing in the tough Sparkhill neighborhood of Birmingham and the awakening at 19 that led him to become a devout Muslim have given him a social conscience unusual for an elite athlete but have also attracted controversy. Here, for the first time, Moeen tells his side of the story. Talented, tenacious, and thoughtful, Moeen Ali is a true all-rounder.
- GenresBiography
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 27, 2018
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61 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 6, 2020
Moeen’s story from his humble beginnings to representing his country on the world stage is truly inspiring.
Like Moeen I’m a Mirpuri from inner city Birmingham but I don’t share his love for cricket. His story highlighted the importance of family, friends, dedication, commitment and most importantly God plays in helping reach ones goals.
Like Moeen I’m a Mirpuri from inner city Birmingham but I don’t share his love for cricket. His story highlighted the importance of family, friends, dedication, commitment and most importantly God plays in helping reach ones goals.
Want to read
August 19, 2023bought it today, so excited to read!!! -12/08/23
December 23, 2021
Fascinating to read Moeen's father's dedication to fostering Moeen's talent into bearing the fruit that it has.
Poor opening chapter for an opener, and also the end was a rushed-job. An updated version would be nice to include the World Cup victory.
Reading between the lines on pp.146 and 281-282, you can see a triangulation of Azeem Rafiq's claim that Michael Vaughan said "[there's] too many of you lot, we need to do something about it". Not only have current England player Adil Rashid and ex Pakistani cricket Rana Naved-ul-Hasan confirmed that they heard this, consider also this:
- Kabir Ali never got to play a second Test match, even though he took five wickets in his debut Test (3 more than James Anderson in the same Test) and went onto to become the first bowler in 2008 to reach 50 championship wickets
- 'Vaughan and Boycott [...] have, I feel, always been very against me being in the England side. For whatever reason, they don't want me there. They don't think I am good enough. They don't think I belong. So, when I'm doing well their praise is very grudging: it's "Oh yeah, he's doing okay"; never "Oh yeah, he's doing really well". And when I'm doing badly it's "He can't be in the team any more".'
You should bear in mind that Ali wrote this in 2018, 3 years before Rafiq's allegation supported by other players.
What Rafeeq has alleged against Vaughan is a lot more serious than simply uttering hurtful words. It is the most evil type of racism that looks to hinder people's careers because of their racial differences.
On a more positive note, he describes one of the most beautiful moments in cricket in all its fullness and context on pp.244-245 viz. the Hashim, Hashim, Hashim Amla - Moeen, Moeen, Moeen Ali chants of the South Africa and England fans, viewable here: https://youtu.be/2pCOvjLGbU0
Poor opening chapter for an opener, and also the end was a rushed-job. An updated version would be nice to include the World Cup victory.
Reading between the lines on pp.146 and 281-282, you can see a triangulation of Azeem Rafiq's claim that Michael Vaughan said "[there's] too many of you lot, we need to do something about it". Not only have current England player Adil Rashid and ex Pakistani cricket Rana Naved-ul-Hasan confirmed that they heard this, consider also this:
- Kabir Ali never got to play a second Test match, even though he took five wickets in his debut Test (3 more than James Anderson in the same Test) and went onto to become the first bowler in 2008 to reach 50 championship wickets
- 'Vaughan and Boycott [...] have, I feel, always been very against me being in the England side. For whatever reason, they don't want me there. They don't think I am good enough. They don't think I belong. So, when I'm doing well their praise is very grudging: it's "Oh yeah, he's doing okay"; never "Oh yeah, he's doing really well". And when I'm doing badly it's "He can't be in the team any more".'
You should bear in mind that Ali wrote this in 2018, 3 years before Rafiq's allegation supported by other players.
What Rafeeq has alleged against Vaughan is a lot more serious than simply uttering hurtful words. It is the most evil type of racism that looks to hinder people's careers because of their racial differences.
On a more positive note, he describes one of the most beautiful moments in cricket in all its fullness and context on pp.244-245 viz. the Hashim, Hashim, Hashim Amla - Moeen, Moeen, Moeen Ali chants of the South Africa and England fans, viewable here: https://youtu.be/2pCOvjLGbU0
December 1, 2020
English Cricketer Moeen Ali's book is mostly self serving. It is an expansive report of his individual performances since his age group playing days, peppered with anecdotes about his family. I don't have an issue with that, but, the blurb in the book says, the book was longlisted for a Specsavers national book award. Readers should be wary of any book that is going to be longlisted or shortlisted for that award if their selection criteria is to find bland works like this.
December 17, 2023
Didn't finish it. Very poorly written. Also took up about 7gig on my kindle because everyone mentioned has a "y" suffixed to their name, something that Austeny and Dickensy would never do. Disappointing.
January 14, 2023
Fabulous autobiography from a successful British Muslim cricketer who made it to the England National side. Great recounting of his Cricket skill and talent and discussion of his Muslim persona.
April 21, 2023
A wonderful read especially when talking about his family and struggles to make it to the English team.
January 8, 2024
Really interesting cricketing biography from a really great team man.
August 11, 2024
I loved reading about Mooen's background growing up, and what life was like for him being a Muslim in the team. Well worth a read.
October 19, 2018
I am not a great fan of autobiographies, self acclaim often exceeds self criticism, but I found this an insightful and honest book. Written from the heart it shares personal perspectives and beliefs outside cricket and provides a good understanding of of drives him.
December 18, 2023
This book covers Moeen Ali’s life from his childhood to his cricket career in 2018. He gives details on his performances at his matches and the scores. As I am not a dedicated cricket fan, a lot of this went over my head, but it would be good for those who enjoy reviewing performances and how the teams played.
What was more interesting to me was Moeen’s family life and his relationship with Islam. The book starts with his triumph at the Oval in 2017 before it moves to cover his childhood and the family background of his parents and grandparents. His grandmother, Betty Cox, was English and married his grandfather Shafayat Ali in Birmingham in 1949, at a time when mixed marriages were uncommon. They built a life for themselves and kept close ties with India, with Moeen’s father eventually having an arranged marriage in India, which gave him a background of both English and Indian culture to draw from. His parents, particularly Moeen’s father, are the ones who supported his and his brother’s careers in cricket. His father was a great cricket player, and Moeen speculates that in another time his father could have gone professional if he had had the family support and opportunities that Moeen was given. His father even gave up his career to better prepare and support him, giving his time and expertise to coach and train Moeen. He is always respectful and proud of his family and what they did to get him to be able to do what he loves for a living.
His relationship with Islam is interesting as well because he eventually walks a different path to his family regarding religion. He says that as the third generation, who are educated and integrated, they should have the opportunity to reflect on the customs that they have been given and see whether they are as written in the book or have come through cultural heritage and have been given a religious status. He is openly practising, and takes his guidance directly from the Quran, rather than through the direction of the religious teachers, as he realised that some practices were Pakistani cultural history and not mentioned in the Quran, such as wearing a Taviz. This has led to him embracing new elements and rejecting some older elements of his faith that were not part of the original texts.
He takes comfort and strength from practising Islam, through praying and listening to the Quran and although he has found the media have made an issue of his beliefs at times, he is clear that his team have accepted them and that he has felt included and respected with his fellow players, such as celebrating a win together before popping the champagne as Moeen does not drink alcohol and it should not touch him either. He is a dedicated family man and father, who is passionate about his sport but is not looking for fame, only to prove himself and support his team.
What was striking, given the recent conflict in Gaza, is that Moeen was very aware of the Palestinians treatment by Israel and was trying to bring attention to it back in 2014, when he wore wristbands with ‘Save Gaza’ and ‘Free Palestine’ on them, as he had been inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela as a child, as there was a quote written on a wall at his school: ‘We know all too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians’.
What was more interesting to me was Moeen’s family life and his relationship with Islam. The book starts with his triumph at the Oval in 2017 before it moves to cover his childhood and the family background of his parents and grandparents. His grandmother, Betty Cox, was English and married his grandfather Shafayat Ali in Birmingham in 1949, at a time when mixed marriages were uncommon. They built a life for themselves and kept close ties with India, with Moeen’s father eventually having an arranged marriage in India, which gave him a background of both English and Indian culture to draw from. His parents, particularly Moeen’s father, are the ones who supported his and his brother’s careers in cricket. His father was a great cricket player, and Moeen speculates that in another time his father could have gone professional if he had had the family support and opportunities that Moeen was given. His father even gave up his career to better prepare and support him, giving his time and expertise to coach and train Moeen. He is always respectful and proud of his family and what they did to get him to be able to do what he loves for a living.
His relationship with Islam is interesting as well because he eventually walks a different path to his family regarding religion. He says that as the third generation, who are educated and integrated, they should have the opportunity to reflect on the customs that they have been given and see whether they are as written in the book or have come through cultural heritage and have been given a religious status. He is openly practising, and takes his guidance directly from the Quran, rather than through the direction of the religious teachers, as he realised that some practices were Pakistani cultural history and not mentioned in the Quran, such as wearing a Taviz. This has led to him embracing new elements and rejecting some older elements of his faith that were not part of the original texts.
He takes comfort and strength from practising Islam, through praying and listening to the Quran and although he has found the media have made an issue of his beliefs at times, he is clear that his team have accepted them and that he has felt included and respected with his fellow players, such as celebrating a win together before popping the champagne as Moeen does not drink alcohol and it should not touch him either. He is a dedicated family man and father, who is passionate about his sport but is not looking for fame, only to prove himself and support his team.
What was striking, given the recent conflict in Gaza, is that Moeen was very aware of the Palestinians treatment by Israel and was trying to bring attention to it back in 2014, when he wore wristbands with ‘Save Gaza’ and ‘Free Palestine’ on them, as he had been inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela as a child, as there was a quote written on a wall at his school: ‘We know all too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians’.
September 29, 2022
An interesting but also quite a bland read. It was revealing that he was such a badly behaved and quite rebellious child and teenager compared with his very respected image now! His conversion to a devoted Muslim faith was a fascinating read although some of his later viewpoints are perhaps controversial i.e. he is playing cricket for England and not for a religion too. Joe Root for example is not playing for England and Christianity! Totally unnecessary to play for England wearing wristbands promoting a separate Palestine. Despite these badly thought out actions and opinions, he remains a likeable character who is also an outstanding cricketer when playing at his best. He certainly won't be playing another Ashes series in Oz!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews