Moeen Ali set to skip Hundred as part of English domestic retirement

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Moeen Ali intends to retire from English domestic cricket after the T20 Blast and will skip the Hundred in 2025, ESPNcricinfo has learned.
Moeen, 37, has remained active on the franchise circuit since announcing his international retirement in September. His decision to quit English cricket will enable him to take up further opportunities overseas as he heads into the final stages of his career, with the ECB’s policy on No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) otherwise limiting his movement during the English summer.

Now in the third and final year of his contract with Warwickshire, Moeen will accelerate his move into coaching during the T20 Blast this year with a player-coach role at Birmingham Bears and has decided to skip the Hundred. It is not yet clear whether he will be available for the knockout stages in September, should the Bears qualify.

Moeen has captained Birmingham Phoenix across the first four seasons of the Hundred but will not play for them in 2025. The eight Hundred teams had until 1pm on Monday to finalise their retentions for 2025, keeping hold of up to 10 players in both the men’s and women’s competitions at a mutually-agreed salary band.

Moeen joins his long-time England team-mate Alex Hales in skipping the Hundred this year as a result of the ECB’s hardline stance on NOCs, which is designed to stop players picking and choosing which leagues they play in during the English summer. James Vince, Hampshire’s captain, recently spoke out about the stance in an interview with ESPNcricinfo, after confirming his retirement from red-ball cricket ahead of this season.

Hales confirmed last week that he will not play at Trent Bridge this year, and has instead signed with the Knight Riders franchises in Major League Cricket and the Caribbean Premier League. Moeen’s decision could see him return to Guyana Amazon Warriors in mid-August, having represented the franchise in the CPL and the inaugural Global Super League last year.

Moeen is not the only England player set to leave the Phoenix, with Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes also departing. ESPNcricinfo understands that London Spirit have lined Smith up as their designated centrally-contracted player, while Welsh Fire are thought to be interested in bringing Woakes in.

The Phoenix’s men narrowly missed out on the final last year and have retained a strong core. Jacob Bethell, Liam Livingstone, Ben Duckett, Dan Mousley, Will Smeed and Benny Howell are all staying put, while Dan Vettori’s side will field an all-New Zealand pace attack comprising Adam Milne, Tim Southee and new direct signing Trent Boult.

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