“My dad always wanted me to be a cricketer, study no chance. Once he sa...” — Moeen Ali Quote

My dad always wanted me to be a cricketer, study no chance. Once he saw that I was quite good for my age, no school. So, as soon as I did my GCSEs, I got signed by Warwickshire at 15.

I needed to step back from cricket, international cricket in particular, to get away from the scrutiny and intensity. I love it but it was too much for me.

I know personally as a young player when coaches came to my school that is someone you want to be like and I think that helps massively.

Runs are important, don't get me wrong, but it will be wickets that I will be judged on.

From nine, I started playing cricket. From 11, I knew this is what I'm doing.

Someone had an eye on me as I was leaving high school. I had a chance to record demos, but they were kind of wanting to make a pop singer out of me, of the 'X Factor' variety. I didn't feel comfortable with it. I wanted to be a songwriter.

Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.

I now make meditation a daily part of my life. Ideally, I would find 20 minutes, twice a day, to sit and meditate with an app I have on my phone. In reality, on most days, I only get the chance to do it once. But it is still incredibly valuable.

There is no chance of retakes during live shows and that really challenges me.