WORCESTERSHIRE cricketer Moeen Ali has been named among those shortlisted for Britain' most prestigious Muslim awards.

The Birmingham born batsman and bowler was nominations for The Muslim News Awards for Excellence by the newspaper’s readership.

Each year, an independent panel of judges with no connection to the newspaper, shortlist and then select winners in a range of award categories, from media to sport, community development to education.

Ali, who has played for Worcestershire since 2006 and became a regular for England in 2014, is one of three people up for the Faezeh Hashemi Award for Excellence in Sport.

He faces Abdi Jama, a wheelchair basketball player, and the Striker Academy Schools, which aims to help children from all background abilities and skill levels in Warrington play football to their very best.

Ali is not only known as an excellent cricketer, but also a man devoted to his faith. His trademark long beard has earned him the nickname, the beard that is feared. Speaking in 2014, he said: “I wear the beard as a label. One of my aims is to try to show that you can have faith and play cricket. I feel my job as a Muslim is to change that and show people what my faith is really like.”

He is also an Ambassador of StreetChance, a programme providing free cricket coaching sessions in deprived areas.