Moeen Ali receives the prestigious OBE award

Moeen Ali, the English all-rounder, has been awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) during the Queen's birthday honours on Wednesday for his services to the game of cricket.

The star all-rounder has received the award because of his 16 years of service as a professional, in which he represented the nation on 225 occasions across formats. 

Last summer, Moeen decided to retire from the game's longest format after claiming 195 wickets and 2914 runs in 64 matches. However, Ali is still an important part of the white ball setup and was a part of the squad that created history by winning the World Cup in 2019.

On receiving the award, Moeen said to The Guardian and PA Media:

"It is obviously an honour and the more you think about it, the more you realise how nice it is and how rewarding it is," Moeen said. 

"More than anything, I know it makes my parents happy and that's the most important thing - one of the main reasons for accepting. It's amazing and my family are really proud and happy.

"I think it's more about the journey I've been on, my background, my upbringing and all that," he added. "Maybe the way I played a little bit and the way I go about my cricket, maybe that's what people have liked or whatever.

"From the word go, as soon as I played for England, people labelled me as being a potential role model. It is a big responsibility because you don't want to let people down. But then as time has gone on, you kind of accept it and deal with it a lot better. You kind of do inspire a lot of people, especially from the inner city."