Watch Moeen Ali receive the player of the year award and speak about winning it
England and Worcestershire all-rounder Moeen Alicapped a memorable summer by being named player of the year at the 2014 Asian Cricket Awards, which were held at Lord’s yesterday evening.
Moeen made his one-day international debut in the West Indies in February and was called up by England for the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh during March and April.
He was subsequently selected for the Test side for the Investec series with Sri Lanka and India, scoring an unbeaten 108 not out to almost save the second Test versus Sri Lanka and taking 6-67 with his off-spin in the third Test against India to turn the series in England’s favour.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” said the 27-year-old from Birmingham, who beat fellow England players Ravi Bopara and Adil Rashid to the award.
“I feel very proud and privileged to be here. It’s a fantastic achievement for the Asian Cricket Awards to be at the home of cricket.
“I’ve had a great year. It’s been fantastic, I’ve loved and cherished every minute of it. Hopefully I can keep it up for a few more years.
“I felt honoured to be in the top four for this award, and I am very proud to be the first guy to win the Asian Cricket Awards player of the year.”
Elsewhere, former England captain Nasser Hussain picked up a special lifetime achievement award for his contribution to cricket, while other winners on the night included Middlesex and England Lions bowler Ravi Patel, who won the young player of the year award, and Worcestershire player and coach Salma Bi, who picked up the woman in cricket award.
Presenters of the 12 awards included high-profile figures such as former England captain Mike Gatting, Baroness Warsi and ex-Pakistan international Azhar Mahmood.
“It has been a fantastic day for cricket,” said Gatting, who is ECB Managing Director – Cricket Partnerships.
“To see a community spreading the word of cricket is fantastic. When something like these awards turn up, it doesn’t matter what community, we try and support the game of cricket.”
The Asian Cricket Awards aim to improve the awareness of the positive impact made by Asians within the British cricket industry and to engage with organisations and individuals to help increase participation.
ACA co-founder Baljit Rihal said: “We are honoured to be able to host our first awards in such a prestigious setting in the year that they are celebrating their 200th anniversary.
“The Asian community currently makes up more than 30 per cent of all participation in the game of cricket throughout the UK, with a high percentage involved at recreational level.
“More can certainly be done by the authorities and county boards to engage in programmes to establish structured pathways into the professional game, but we are very encouraged by the ECB’s commitment to these awards – and we believe we can collaborate in further engaging with the Asian community as laid out in their strategic plan.
“The support we have received from our headline sponsor, Talk Home Mobile, the ECB and the Club Cricket Conference in putting together this event has been tremendous. It is a positive statement of their intent and commitment to the British Asian community.
“Our hope is that the awards will become a significant event in the awareness and development of British Asians in the game. It is a great opportunity to bring together decision-makers and people who we expect to make a positive impact where it matters.”
Asian Cricket Awards winners:
Grassroots
Gopi Raj (England Tamil Cricket League)
Amateur player of the year
Simran Panesar (Warwickshire U19s)
Professional young player of the year
Ravi Patel (Middlesex, England Lions)
Woman in cricket
Salma Bi (Worcestershire)
Coach of the year
Qasim Ali (Lancashire South Asian Talent Search, England Physical Disability Squad)
Media
Isa Guha (IPL TV Presenter, Former England Bowler)
Behind the scenes
Amjad Aziz (Vice-Chairman Birmingham Cricket League – Parks League)
Asian cricket club of the year
London Tigers (Inner-City London)
Inspiration
Naz Khan (chairman, Attock CC)
The Founders – Lifetime achievement award
Nasser Hussain
The Founders – Special achievement award
Wasim Khan
Professional player of the year
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire, England)