Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali will link up with Andrew Flintoff next month, joining England Lions’ coaching group for a short white-ball series against Pakistan Shaheens in Abu Dhabi. The trip – three T20s followed by five 50-over matches – is the Lions’ first taste of competitive white-ball cricket since early 2023 and their first T20 outing in more than five years.
Stokes, still easing back from the groin strain that curtailed his bowling during the final Ashes Test in Sydney, views the fortnight in the desert as gentle rehab: some throw-downs, a bit of fielding practice, no five-over bursts at full tilt. Moeen, freshly un-retired from county cricket after signing for Yorkshire’s T20 campaign, continues his own shift towards coaching. Both have worked with Flintoff before – briefly with the Northern Superchargers in the Hundred – so the trio should slip naturally into that slightly chaotic Lions environment.
Coaching back-up is strong. Flintoff will have Neil McKenzie, Sarah Taylor, Neil Killeen, Amar Rashid and the recently re-appointed pace specialist Troy Cooley alongside him. The idea, the ECB says, is to expose younger players to voices they do not normally hear on the county circuit, while allowing senior internationals to share a few tricks picked up over long careers.
Squads in brief
• Jordan Cox captains a 16-man T20 party.
• Saqib Mahmood returns after knee surgery and, crucially, has the India visa that eluded him for much of the winter – the same paperwork delay that affected Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed.
• James Coles, fresh from an SA20 winners’ medal with Sunrisers Eastern Cape, is rewarded for a mature tournament.
• Leg-spinner Nathan Sowter’s mountain of wickets for Durham and Oval Invincibles earns him a first Lions call-up.
• Tom Moores’ left-hand hitting gives the squad a second wicketkeeper.
In the 50-over group, Dan Mousley takes on the armband. Somerset keeper-bat James Rew and Durham seamer Matthew Potts – looking to move on from that bruising SCG Test – headline the 17-man list. The matches are officially List A, a useful stepping stone towards possible ODI honours.
Why restart the programme now? England have leaned heavily on county cricket, winter franchise gigs and Under-19 tours to blood limited-overs talent, yet coaches felt the gap between domestic white-ball cricket and full international duty was widening. This tour is an attempt to close it.
Performance director Ed Barney explained the thinking. “It’s exciting to have such a strong England Lions squad selected,” he said in a statement. “This group brings a real blend of proven performers, exciting talent who have performed over the winter and retains an eye on future best.” He added: “With limited 50-over cricket on offer, this series combined with tours over the remainder of 2026 will give players the opportunity to develop and deliver as we build towards the 2027 ICC Men’s World Cup in South Africa.”
After Abu Dhabi the Lions will host South Africa A in two unofficial Tests and three List A games starting late May, then a warm-up fixture against Sri Lanka before the visitors’ ODI series. The calendar is busy but, for players and coaches on this trip, it begins with eight matches under desert lights and the chance to impress two current England stars working in tracksuit rather than cap.
Plenty, then, for selectors to chew over – and for Stokes and Moeen, a refreshingly low-key route back into the thick of things.
