Moeen Ali is becoming a member of Yorkshire as a Twenty20 specialist in a shock transfer forward of the 2026 county season.
Moeen, a double World Cup winner throughout a 10-year worldwide profession with England, introduced a yr in the past that he was pulling out of the Hundred in 2025, however would honour the ultimate season of his three-year Warwickshire contract to have one final shot at profitable the T20 Blast along with his hometown membership.
It was anticipated that the run to the quarter-finals of the competitors with the Bears, the place they had been defeated by Somerset, could be his final home motion there.
Nonetheless, having relocated his household from Birmingham to Dubai to embark on life on the worldwide franchise circuit, he let it’s recognized to contacts within the recreation lately that he was inquisitive about popping out of county ‘retirement’, sparking a scramble for his signature which Yorkshire have received, Day by day Mail Sport can reveal.
Moeen retired from worldwide cricket 16 months in the past, having struck eight a whole bunch throughout codecs, taken 366 wickets along with his off-spin and captained in white-ball sequence, deputising for Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler.
At county degree, he additionally led Worcestershire to Twenty20 glory in 2018 earlier than returning to Edgbaston after a 15-year absence in late 2022.
Moeen Ali is ready to hitch Yorkshire as a T20 specialist, pairing up along with his previous England team-mate and White Rose captain Jonny Bairstow
Moeen has relocated his household to Dubai so that he’s extra simply in a position to compete on the T20 franchise circuit
Regardless of turning 39 in June, Moeen’s arrival is seen as one thing of a coup for one in all simply 4 golf equipment by no means to have been topped English T20 champions, not least as a result of Yorkshire have misplaced skilled campaigners Dawid Malan and Jordan Thompson from their squad for subsequent season.
Moeen will successfully substitute fellow left-hander Malan, who captained the aspect final summer season however has since moved to Gloucestershire, within the high 4. Yorkshire’s Championship captain Jonny Bairstow will take the armband.
Moeen continues to have an effect with each bat and ball in 20-over cricket, hitting half-centuries in ILT20 matches both aspect of Christmas and profitable man-of-the-match awards along with his performances for Sylhet within the Bangladesh Premier League: two wickets and 28 off simply eight deliveries adopted by figures of 4-1-8-2 on Monday.
His arrival in Leeds may also encourage his shut buddy Adil Rashid to play for Yorkshire for the primary time in 4 years this coming summer season, having prioritised England and the Hundred in current instances whereas managing a long-term shoulder problem.
Double abroad signing for White Rose
Yorkshire are additionally closing in on two abroad signings, with an settlement for Netherlands seamer Logan van Beek in place to cowl the primary block of County Championship matches in April and Might.
Van Beek, 35, contributed 34 wickets to Leicestershire’s Division Two title-winning marketing campaign final yr, however was deemed surplus to necessities after the Foxes snared South Africa’s left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj for the primary 4 months of 2026.
And Naveen-ul-Haq, of Afghanistan, has been recognized as the person they need to open and shut out innings with the ball in T20.
Each Naveen and his compatriot Fazalhaq Farooqi had been on Yorkshire’s radar, having hung out this winter as MI Emirates team-mates of Bairstow on the ILT20.
Dutch seamer Logan van Beek will probably be Yorkshire’s abroad signing for the primary block of Championship matches in April and Might
Naveen-ul-Haq (left), of Afghanistan, has been recognized as the person Yorkshire need to open and shut out innings with the ball in T20
Naveen, 26, has the sting at T20 worldwide degree, claiming 67 victims at 18.73 runs every, with left-armer Fazalhaq – one yr his junior, and with 63 at 19.77 to his title – anticipated to signal for a rival county within the new-look Blast, which is reverting to a few teams of six from a north-south divide for the preliminary stage.
Day by day Mail Sport understands veteran Australian worldwide AJ Tye, 39, will even arrive at Headingley for the Blast as a neighborhood participant, following within the footsteps of his ex-Western Australia and Perth Scorchers team-mate Sam Whiteman, who was born in Doncaster and emigrated when he was three.
Tye has 39 white-ball caps for the Aussies and is a four-time Large Bash League winner who has beforehand represented Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire and Durham right here.
WA four-day captain Whiteman, 33, has been recruited on a two-year contract and can cowl top-order and wicket-keeping positions in all cricket after the membership sanctioned the transfer of the No 2 Championship gloveman Jonny Tattersall to Leicestershire final July.
Yorkshire had additionally been one of many counties inquisitive about luring David Bedingham, 31, away from relegated Durham after his four-year deal expired in November.
Nonetheless, Durham have re-engaged the South African Check batsman, who has scored 16 County Championship a whole bunch since 2020, on new phrases for a seventh straight season. He’s anticipated to be obtainable from April to September and can play all codecs.
Regardless of the ECB hierarchy urging counties to halt the inflow of Australian cricketers taking part in county cricket, and subsequently acclimatising forward of subsequent yr’s Ashes, there isn’t a signal of such recruitment slowing.
Jake Lehmann, son of Northamptonshire coach Darren, will use his British passport to play right here for the subsequent two years at Hampshire, the place Michael Neser – recent from 15 England wickets in three Checks this winter – will share the brand new ball with South African Kyle Abbott throughout the membership’s opening half dozen Championship matches.
Hampshire have additionally recognized an Australian all-rounder to take over from ex-Glamorgan bowler Neser in late Might, that includes in each first-class and T20 cricket. They’re long-term admirers of New South Wales captain Jack Edwards.
Australians stay well-liked when counties are recruiting partly due to their high-quality, but in addition as a result of Cricket Australia usually fork out for his or her gamers’ flights, one thing only a few rival worldwide boards supply.
Jake Lehmann, son of Northamptonshire coach Darren Lehmann, will use his British passport to play right here for the subsequent two years at Hampshire
Lehmann will probably be joined on the south coast by compatriot Michael Neser, pictured taking one in all 15 England wickets on this winter’s Ashes
Pears shake up abroad contingent
One Aussie who won’t be that includes this yr, nevertheless, regardless of beforehand being introduced as returning is left-armer Ben Dwarshuis.
Worcestershire had secured Dwarshuis on phrases for a 3rd season, however a £400,000 Indian Premier League take care of Punjab Kings has led to the 31-year-old rethinking his priorities.
Pakistan leg-spinner Usama Mir is again at New Highway on a three-year abroad deal, and the Midlands county will now rival Glamorgan for the signature of Nathan McAndrew, who has spent the previous three seasons with Sussex however has turn into a sufferer of cost-cutting on the south coast.
Uncapped South African Beyers Swanepoel, whose 182 first-class profession wickets price simply 20 runs apiece, is on a Championship-only contract but in addition has a sound T20 report to fall again on ought to he must deputise.
Pakistan leg-spinner Usama Mir is again at Worcestershire on a three-year abroad deal
James Rew prolonged his Somerset deal to cowl solely the 2026 season, that means that the England Lions participant will probably be free to speak to different counties on June 1
Stoneman units in at Somerset
Somerset are utilizing ex-England Check opener Mark Stoneman as a batting guide within the build-up to the brand new season.
Stoneman, 38, is filling the void created by Shane Burger leaving his position as batting coach at Taunton to turn into bowling coach underneath fellow South African Russell Domingo at Hampshire.
Advisable by Somerset stalwart and England assistant Marcus Trescothick, he’s famend for his work with rising gamers like James and Thomas Rew, and is being thought-about for a everlasting place.
One shocking piece of reports out of Somerset is that James Rew prolonged his deal to cowl solely the 2026 season, that means that the England Lions participant will probably be free to speak to different counties on June 1.
