All-rounder is wary of social media but proud of his Birmingham roots, ahead of a World Cup and Ashes summer where he will write regularly for the Guardian

It’s a woefully wet Wednesday in south Birmingham but, in the shelter of Edgbaston’s cavernous indoor school, Moeen Ali is working on his spin bowling with his older brother Kadeer.

As Moeen twirls away, the two lifelong Liverpool fans are gleefully discussing their team’s journey to this season’s Champions League final. Among the analysis comes a lighthearted quip that their Manchester United-supporting friends were curiously absent from mosque in the hours after Jürgen Klopp’s men wrapped up their astonishing semi-final comeback against Barcelona.

A final set of six are fizzed down to Kadeer, the former first‑class cricketer who now works as an academy coach at Warwickshire and is “mitting” behind the stumps. Moeen then joins the Guardian for a chat on the echoing sports hall’s mezzanine floor, having signed up as our new columnist for this World Cup and Ashes summer.

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Beyond the buzz of another famous Anfield night, football has got Moeen thinking big in terms of cricket. World Cup fever is building towards its 30 May curtain-raiser and as a much-loved pillar of the England one-day side that has risen to No 1 under captain Eoin Morgan, he senses a unique opportunity over the coming weeks.

“This morning I woke up and thought about the way this Liverpool side have got people talking,” says Moeen. “It’s not just results either, people have bought into how the club is being run, how they play their football and what they stand for.

“Look at a player like Divock Origi. No one was talking about the guy and then suddenly he becomes a hero. I reckon in playgrounds all around the country kids will now be pretending they are him and re‑enacting that goal. It makes you think, both as a player and as a team, what we could achieve this summer. Imagine what it would be like if we got to the World Cup final and won it.”

Sunnier weather would have meant this interview taking place five minutes down the road at Moeen’s old playground, the municipal park on Stoney Lane next to Nelson Mandela primary where he, his brothers and cousins spent their childhoods living and breathing cricket. It sits nestled in the Balti triangle, a truly diverse and bustling part of the second city, not least during the holy month of Ramadan.

The journey from Sparkhill to the international spotlight – one driven by the passion of his father, Munir, and laced with those luxuriant cover drives – has been well documented during the five years since his England debut; the role model status that comes with it has only grown. Being a positive flag-bearer for British Asians and, in particular, Muslims, during what feel like fractious times is something Moeen has never once shunned.

Times are changing. Parents are seeing cricket as a proper career now

“I know my responsibilities. They are to my religion, my parents, my wife, my family and my community. People make mistakes along the way. Cricket means I may not always be there for everyone all the time. But when I take the field for my country, I know there are a lot of people I am representing.

“And it’s not just when I’m playing in England but overseas, too. When I go abroad I’m representing England but also the British Asians – or whatever people want to call us – and I know people look up to me. It’s not something I always dwell on or like all the time but I know where I stand with it all.”

He may have swapped Warwickshire for Worcestershire 13 years ago, played 58 Tests and 121 white-ball internationals and now counts the world’s most famous cricketer, Virat Kohli, among his friends, but Moeen has never moved away from South Birmingham.

Indeed for all the trappings that come with being an England and Indian Premier League star, he is among the most grounded you could wish to meet. His streets remain the same, his local gym is the budget one in nearby Kings Heath where his cousins hang out; you might even spot him buzzing around the area in an old Volkswagen Polo (if the keys weren’t missing at present).

“I have always wanted to stay close to my roots,” Moeen explains. “I always said if I played for England I’d never want to change. I mean, everyone changes a bit as they get older but I will never change who I am deep down.

“They have dropped in numbers a bit but I do catch the kids still playing [at Stoney Lane] and see my younger self in them. Last night at prayers I bumped into a guy I played with every day as a kid but hadn’t seen for years. We spoke about the old days for an hour. It was great.”

Moeen remembers a good number of such park players who have drifted out of cricket, a small symptom of the wider malaise that has led to British Asians making up between 30% and 40% of the recreational game but just 4% at the professional men’s level. This summer, he hopes, could be the spark to ignite this largely untapped resource.

“I was so fortunate to play my club cricket at Moseley Ashfield. We had loads of Asians, white players, black players. You grow up from that knowing it just doesn’t matter what religion or culture people are into, everyone is different. We’re all human beings. It’s the same at Worcestershire and with England. We all just want to play cricket. That is the power of sport and cricket.

“Growing up and playing for different teams there were times when you felt, as an Asian player, you needed to be 10 times better to stand out. You’d have stereotypes thrown around – that we were lazy, ate the wrong food, didn’t do fitness or work on fielding.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Moeen Ali, on his bond with Adil Rashid: ‘It sounds strange but genuinely I feel me and him, our careers coming together, was meant to be.’ Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

“But it does cut the other way, too. I do believe Asian players in the past may have given up quicker. They might use the excuses on offer or say they are focusing on education when, in reality, they weren’t willing to do that hard bit, that final bit which sees you break through.

“Because my dad had that drive and passion, we never saw hard work as an obstacle. One of the most talented all-rounders I have ever came across growing up wasn’t supported by his parents like I was and I think that was the difference why only one of us made it.

“But times are changing. Parents are seeing cricket as a proper career now. You’re starting to see the odd British Asian footballer coming through, too.”

In terms of demonstrating cricket as a viable path to players of a similar background, the adage goes that you can’t be what you can’t see. And thanks to Adil Rashid’s similar centrality to England’s one-day side – no bowler has taken more than the Yorkshireman’s 129 ODI wickets since the last World Cup – Moeen at least has not just a teammate with whom to share this responsibility, but a brother.

Their stars have certainly aligned in this England one-day team. As well as being a potentially devastating bat at No 7, Moeen hurries through with the ball, pinching wickets and keeping it tight while Rashid attacks via his variations. The pair are inseparable on England duty. Their friendship was forged when, playing age-group cricket in their teens, they found common ground through heritage – both families originate from the Pakistani Kashmir – and religion.

I have seen people in dressing rooms close to tears because of what people say about them

“It’s strange how our careers have run in parallel before being reunited with England,” says Moeen. “We complement each other, too: he’s a leg-spinner, I’m an offie, he bats right-hand, me left. I truly see him as my younger brother and, as I’m a year older, he shows me that respect. That’s part of our culture.

“There was a time around 2009 when he first broke into the England team and I joke that he got big for his boots and wouldn’t speak to me. But really we are as tight as you’ll get. It sounds strange but genuinely I feel me and him, our careers coming together, was meant to be.”

While it is a slight shame for the message they can spread that the pair closed their social media accounts last year, it is also their choice to make and refreshing in many ways. For Moeen it was chiefly to cut down on screen time and take in more of his surroundings, not least an attention-craving son. But he feels the medium can be damaging to self-esteem if not seen for what it is.

“There is so much negativity on there,” says Moeen. “Do something good, there will still always be that person who is negative. It doesn’t matter in reality but some take it personally. I have seen people in dressing rooms close to tears because of what people say about them.”

By polarising and amplifying public discourse, social media is, in his eyes, a cause of many wider ills too. Extremism is something Moeen rejects in any form, a topic we briefly touch upon when discussing the Easter Sunday bombings of the Shangri-La and Cinnamon Grand in Colombo, two hotels where we stayed during England’s tour to Sri Lanka last year.

“The people who looked after us at the hotel [Shangri-La] were so nice. It was so shocking. I had my wife and son in that breakfast room [where one of the explosions took place]. It’s all such a waste and such a blow to humanity. What has happened to us? There’s so much hate in the world. People just want to get on with their lives and be happy.”

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It is a message of peace that Moeen takes into his cricket too, and as we finally look to the Ashes series this summer he expresses concern for Steve Smith and David Warner. In his autobiography Moeen alleged he was called “Osama” by an unnamed Australian player in the 2015 Ashes. But for the returning pair, set to play their first Test cricket since the Cape Town sandpaper affair, he wants only respect.

“I really hope they don’t get too much stick. I want them to enjoy the series. If you have to, keep it funny, not personal. We all make mistakes. We are human beings and we have feelings. I know deep down they are probably really good people. I just hope they get treated decently. I just want the cricket to be spoken about.”

As we wrap up, Moeen heads down to the nets and gets back into his cricket gear, this time for a photo session. The Guardian’s Tom Jenkins was working at Anfield for the Barcelona game and sure enough, as the camera snaps away, the conversation switches back to Liverpool’s European adventure.

Who knows, come the World Cup final on 14 July perhaps Moeen and the England team he so proudly represents will be generating similar talk up and down the country.