England Lions: Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali train on the white-ball tour

England Test captain Ben Stokes and all-rounder Moeen Ali will be part of the England Lions coaching staff for their series against Pakistan Shaheens in the UAE next month.

Stokes is currently recovering from an adductor muscle injury suffered in the fifth Test against Australia earlier this month, while Moeen takes up his first coaching role with the Lions.

Moeen and Stokes, who will continue his rehabilitation from injury in the UAE, will assist head coach Andrew Flintoff in the three-match T20 and five-match 50-over series against the Pakistani second-string.

Moeen played 298 matches for England before retiring from international cricket in 2024, but announced on Monday that he was scrapping his plans to retire from domestic cricket and sign for Yorkshire.

National elite bowler Troy Colley, who returned to the England squad last week, former South Africa batsman Neil McKenzie, former England wicketkeeper-batsman Sarah Taylor, former Durham seamer Neil Killeen and Ammar Rashid, brother of England spinner Adil, make up the rest of the coaching staff.

Jordan Cox and Dan Moseley will captain the T20 and 50-overs teams in the Lions’ first away white-ball series since touring Sri Lanka in 2022.

The duo are joined by fellow internationals Saqib Mahmood, who has been named in the T20 squad, and Matthew Potts, who will play in over 50 matches.

Sam Cooke, the Essex seamer, who won his one Test cap against Zimbabwe last summer but missed the Lions’ tour party that shadowed the Ashes, has been named in both squads.

The squad also includes James Rowe, Asa Tribe and James Coles, while Scott Curry has been selected after being left out of Scotland’s squad for the T20 World Cup.

Ed Barney, Director of Men’s Performance at the ECB, said: “It is exciting that such a strong England squad has been selected.”

“This lineup brings a real mix of proven artists, exciting talent who have performed over the winter and are looking forward to the best in the future.

“With a limited offering of over 50 cricket matches, this series combined with tours across 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.”

Rashid previously coached cricketers in England and joined the Lions coaching staff for a period before returning to the South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA), which produced a number of players for county teams.

“We have seen what Amar can do as a coach and it comes as no surprise to us that his skills are being recognized by those who manage the Lions,” SACA founder Tom Brown said.

“At SACA, we are extremely proud of the opportunities we have created in the professional game not only for our South Asian players, but for our coaches as well.”

The tour begins with the first T20 match on February 21, with members of the coaching staff attending either all or part of the tour.