World Cup winning cricketer Moeen Ali has received an honorary degree from Coventry University.
The all-rounder, who plays for Warwickshire after a lengthy career at rival Worcestershire, received the award at a ceremony at Coventry Cathedral on Monday.
The university said the honour was “in recognition of his outstanding contribution” to cricket.
Moeen said he found sharing the day with other students “special”.
The former England captain, who was born in Birmingham, played 68 tests, 138 ODIs and 92 T20s for his country.
After receiving the award, the 37-year-old said he was “honoured”.
Moeen said he hoped he had inspired people to take up the game.
“To inspire them and give them confidence to do what they want to do. It’s a big part of my journey,” he said.
“I just tried to do the best I could but now that I’ve finished playing for England, I look and sit back and when people come up to me and say my kid plays or I play because you played and the way you played – that really for me is true success in the sport really.”
Moeen said his best personal moment during his international career was taking a hat-trick to win a test against South Africa at The Oval in 2017.
“It’s special to have a day with the students who you know have worked hard and studied hard and put in the work and got rewarded today,” he said.
“To be part of that and to share the day with them is amazing and I’m thrilled that Coventry University awarded me with this amazing honour.”
