England all-rounder Moeen Ali has become the fourth active English cricketer to have received the OBE, after the likes of Heather Knight, Ben Stokes, and James Anderson. The 35-year old was handed the award at the Windsor Castle in the English county of Berkshire on Wednesday.
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Notably, Moeen was honoured with the OBE for his services to cricket as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours list last year. However, it was only on Wednesday that he could finally have a date fixed for the ceremony.
As a result, despite coming out of retirement to play in the imminent Ashes 2023, he had to opt out of England’s training session on the day after due permission with the head coach Brendon McCullum.
“I bought a suit, a three-piece suit. It’s going to be boiling. I had to buy a new one. My mum and dad love it. I’m taking them, and my missus. We’re going to enjoy the day,” remarked Ali on his plans for the special day during an interaction with ESPNcricinfo a couple of days ago.
Moeen Ali Knighthood
Moeen Ali has not been conferred with the honour of knighthood. He has, in fact, been appointed to the Order of the British Empire. Honours as such are given to recognize people’s amazing achievements and service to the country.
A special committee decides which British citizen deserves to be conferred with the honour. The committee’s decision then goes to the Prime Minister’s office and ultimately to the Queen for the final decision.
Ali has involved himself in a host of philanthropy work over the years as well. He is an ambassador of a welfare scheme named StreetChance, which provides free weekly cricket coaching to the deprived areas of UK. A few years ago, he had also joined an international NGO named ‘Orphans in Need’, and contributed actively to the noble cause of charity.
What Is OBE in England?
An OBE refers to an order of the British Empire award. It is the second-highest ranked honour or Order of the British Empire award after Commander of the Order of the British Empire or CBE.
An OBE is ranked above MBE or Member of the Order of the British Empire. All these three honours are given to people who have brought about a positive impact in their line of work. Again, the distinction between the ranking of honours is made by the discretion of the aforementioned special committee.
Active England cricketers who have been honoured with an MBE are Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, and Joe Root.
