Moeen Ali

Coming on to bowl in the opening powerplay might look stressful for a spinner but I actually quite like it.

I needed to step back from cricket, international cricket in particular, just to get away from the scrutiny and intensity of everything. I love it but it was too much for me.

We want cricket to grow for kids, and for families to come and watch.

Through county cricket all the way up to international cricket, the individual needs to be responsible for his behaviour.

With young kids watching and hearing the news, we have to be on our best behaviour. I think it's really important that we inspire the younger generation to take up the game. It could turn them away. That's not what we want.

As cricketers and professionals, with the scrutiny that is on us, we have to obviously be careful and behave ourselves.

In an ideal world, you knock the runs off and win the game.

When shots are going for six and you're playing well, everyone is trying to big you up. Mis=hit one, get out, all the negative people come out.

It's always nice to get a call-up when in decent nick as you can have that confidence coming into the game. It's what county cricket should do.

No matter where I bat I try to adapt to the situation.

You have family and kids, you get home and they want to play with you but you just end up on your phone. I caught myself doing that when my little one wanted a kickaround and I decided I'd had enough.

I always have a slight sense of sadness when Ramadan ends. It's such an amazing, blessed month. For me it is like a training camp for the year. You reflect on your life and things you can improve on. And it's not about food and drink, it's about learning to be a better person.

When we get to the third and fourth generation immigrant families and beyond there will be more England supporters among them, maybe even the majority. I have had British Asians tell me they support England because of me or Adil Rashid and that's great to hear.

I talk quite a lot in the changing room, try and joke around, keep the energy going, try to lift guys if they are struggling, even if I am struggling.

Mistakes can happen. Sometimes they can build up over the course of an innings and put people even more on edge, which makes it snowball further.

Obviously as players we want to play every game. But when you do miss out, I strongly believe the job is to not sulk and make things uncomfortable for those picked or the captain.

Babies are born every day but truly, each one is a little miracle.

Cricket can produce some amazing feelings on the field and I have been lucky enough to experience a few along the way.

In 2014, my first year as an England player, I got booed by some India fans at Edgbaston every time the ball went near me.

Yuzvendra Chahal, India's leg-spinner, is another IPL teammate. He's also a great guy and very funny.

In tournament cricket, with a new opponent each game, I think you actually need to play to your own strengths more.

When I look back on my career in years to come I will be proud to say I did not just play in a good England team but one with good people, too.

Difference is respected and the environment Eoin Morgan has created is such that we are encouraged to transfer our personalities into our cricket.

The England team is made up of good people, first and foremost, and we are a very multicultural side, too. I believe we represent our country well and our diversity is one of our strengths.

When you're quiet, others can form opinions that are way off the mark.

I wear the beard as a label. I want people to know I am a Muslim and I want people to know I am representing the Muslim faith. I want to show that you can practise your faith and still play cricket to a high level.

Being English, being born in England, this is our home and we should be supporting our home country.

I am a Muslim, yes, but I am also very English. People don't realise how proud I am to be representing my country or being from Birmingham.

Religion is very important to me. One of my aims is to try to show that you can have faith and play cricket. There can be a lot of negativity and misunderstanding of Islam.

I like to see the kids in my area wearing England shirts, not Pakistan or India ones. A lot of it comes from the older generations but it's changing slowly, especially if people like myself and Ravi Bopara are playing for England.

I think my dad always believed I would play for England, probably more than I believed it, but it never crossed our minds that we weren't going to make it.

We all played in my family and cricket has always been in the blood.

In the nets, Joe Root hits the most sixes. He tries to take us down all the time. I think everyone is capable of hitting big sixes and I think I'm the best of all of them. But Jos is the one guy that everyone knows is out front. Jos is power with timing.

We're just having a lot of fun and ripping each other all the time. We get stuck into each other about everything: about the football or about Fifa. Anything. It's all part of team bonding. It's all very natural.

There's a lot of misunderstanding out there, particularly in the difference between religion and culture. For example, I hear people criticise Islam for arranged marriages, but that's nothing to do with Islam. It is the culture in some places, but it's actually against Islam.

I've not experienced racism from other players. Not once. You experience ignorance but that's not the same at all, and I'm always happy to discuss things. If that helps people learn about Islam, to learn there's nothing to fear, then great, that's all part of my role.

Yes, I see myself as a role model. And as a role model, I have to behave in a certain way.

Respect is having respect for the people you play with and against, and respect for the shirt. Unity is about sticking together but also uniting the country. That was always the bigger cause for us, not just the cricket.

I was just a normal teenager, going out with my friends, enjoying my time. I didn't really believe in anything, I didn't fast or pray.

I hope what people see in me is that I'm a normal guy, and that people who look as I do can do normal things.

I know people aren't sure about men who look like I do. People don't see the beard as a bit of hair. I've been shouted at, called some horrible names, and when I first came to Worcester I noticed people crossing the road to avoid me.

I'd never go up to somebody and start preaching, but if somebody asks I'm willing to talk about it. Often, after people have seen me praying, they'll ask and it's a chance to show how normal prayer time is and why we do it, to teach people about the religion. Not to try to change them, but to explain.

That's the best thing: just being part of the team.

I'm 32 now. I'm getting old. It's gone in the blink of an eye. But I won't even look back at the number of caps when I'm done: the most important thing will be remembering all the fun I've had with the guys in the dressing room and the friends I've made.

I never thought I'd be a senior player in a county side, let alone the England side. When you break into a county side, that is your aim, so it's an incredible feeling to have achieved that with England.

No. 7 is not an easy position. The way you play is dictated by the pace of the game and you have to try to get quick runs. Even top players like Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes find it hard.

I never get too over-confident, or too down. I just go with the flow.

I've always said it's just a game of cricket. The only pressure I get is when I feel I've let the team down.

Social media is one of the hardest things about playing for England.

If they come after me and my bowling you get a bit down. But when I am fielding I think about it and there are worse things that can happen. I take in the atmosphere a bit and think this is not too bad.