Picture by Vaughn Ridley/SWPix.com. Moin Ashraf bowls for Yorkshire during the 2012 summer.
In summer 2012, a young fast bowler broke through with significant success as Yorkshire reached the T20 Blast final and also qualified for the Champions League event in South Africa. His name was Moin Ashraf.
Now, Ashraf – having retired from playing – is trying to help other youngsters achieve a similar dream through the thriving MACC Academy.
Aged 20 at the time, Ashraf starred in a team alongside the likes of Jonny Bairstow, David Miller, Adil Rashid, Joe Root and Mitchell Starc. He had debuted in first-team cricket previously, but 2012 was the summer in which he really grabbed attention.
The Bradfordian claimed 15 Blast wickets, including current England Test captain Ben Stokes, and went on to play against superstars such as Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Smith.
Ashraf played 71 senior matches across all competitions in a career which also took him to Northamptonshire and finished at the start of 2017 whilst captaining Leeds-Bradford MCC Universities.
Ashraf, now 33-years-old, was part of Yorkshire’s most successful T20 team to date. But now his influence on the game from the other side of the boundary rope looks like being even more significant.
The MACC Academy was set up in 2023 by Ashraf and works across multiple locations across Yorkshire and – whisper it quietly! – Lancashire to identify and nurture the next generation of talent from “different walks of life, different backgrounds, different ethnicities and faiths”.
They concentrate on ages 11-17.
Picture by MACC Academy. Moin Ashraf’s Academy is filled with many an aspiring junior.
One major part of Ashraf’s work, and that of his team, is a scholarship scheme, making the game accessible to players from underprivileged backgrounds.
“Our scholarship scheme is trying to make sure that these young people have the opportunity that they wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Ashraf told yorkshireccc.com.
“The eligibility criteria for the scholarship is that the players need to attend state school, they need to be 11-17, which is where we feel the optimal age is for development, and then they need to be a recipient of free school meals or pupil premiums.
“We also look at something called the IMD, which is the Index of Multiple Deprivation, and that’s based on their postcode and where they live.
“If they live in an area that the government sees as more deprived than others, they would have access to the scholarship.”
Whether it’s scholars or non-scholars, the MACC Academy has helped nurture and develop players – male and female – who are currently part of Yorkshire’s pathway system.
Seamer Subhaan Ali is one. He was part of the White Rose Emerging Players Programme in 2025 and made his second-team debut last month. Yorkshire’s women’s Under 18s player Lois George is another.
Ashraf, with a clear passion for coaching, also offers one-to-one, group and club coaching as well as holiday camps.
Picture by MACC Academy. Moin Ashraf at his Academy’s awards dinner at Headingley last month.
There was a recent post on social media showing work done with highly-rated Worcestershire batter Kashif Ali, for example.
When coming through at Yorkshire, it was always clear Ashraf was switched on. An old head on young shoulders type. So the success he is achieving now is no surprise. And he is not just content with producing talented cricketers.
“We’re more than just a Cricket Academy,” he explained.
“I understand from my personal experience how cricket can teach you transferrable skills, professional skills that will allow you to become successful in the workplace as well.
“We want to instil values and principles in these young people and invest in them.
“Whether they become cricketers or not, it’s not the purpose.
“Obviously, we want to try and produce as many cricketers as we can, but our main vision is to try and get players to reach their full potential off the pitch as well as on it.
“Cricket is brilliant for making people more resilient and understanding how to cope with learnings and failures. That’s what we want to do.
Picture by MACC Academy. Moin Ashraf alongside Michael Vaughan at the aforementioned awards dinner.
“We want to try and instil values in them away from the pitch as well as on it.”
Last month, Headingley’s Howard Suite hosted the 2025 MACC Academy awards dinner. Michael Vaughan was a guest speaker, Ryan Sidebottom and Yorkshire’s general manager of cricket Gavin Hamilton too.
David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd is also an ambassador for the Academy.
“We had between 350-400 people there,” said Ashraf.
“The main purpose of the event was to celebrate the achievements of our players.
“It was a pinch-me moment. It really was.
“To have played at Headingley and to have seen the Howard Suite and that stand evolve – I was a guest in there at the England v South Africa ODI last month – it was kind of surreal to get our players in there for a dinner like that.
“How amazing would it have been for our players to be in there?
Picture by MACC Academy. David Lloyd is an ambassador for Moin Ashraf’s Academy.
“I feel incredibly proud to have done that.
“The way the Academy has evolved, the way the Academy has grown, it’s quite surreal. But we understand we have a job to do. We know what we can bring to the cricket world and the world in general, and we’re not going to stop until we fulfil that.
“We’ve done a lot, but we have a lot more to do.”
On the night, a total of £7,183.26 was raised both to fund their scholarships and also to support the National Autistic Society, which is also to Ashraf’s heart.
“They do an unbelievable job,” he said.
“My son Ibrahim, he’s non-verbal, he’s autistic, and I know how difficult it can be as a parent.
“They do an unbelievable job making the world more autism aware, making spaces more autism sensitive and creating opportunities for autistic people when they go into employment.”
And on the support of former team-mates such as Vaughan and Sidebottom to name just a couple, he added: “The common goal is to make cricket accessible for all.
Picture by MACC Academy. Moin Ashraf with fellow coaches and players from his Academy.
“When we’ve had meetings, I think people understand my passion and genuineness for helping the next generation. That’s something which is burning inside me.
“We do everything with compassion, with integrity and make sure that’s at the forefront of what we’re doing.
“We have a mission to make cricket accessible for all, and sport can be a catalyst for social change.
“That’s what we’re trying to do, make it accessible for every young person out there who wants to succeed at it.
“Whether it’s Vaughany or Bumble, the support I’ve got from them has blown me away. They are very well thought of in the game, and it’s been incredible.”
For more information, visit www.themaccacademy.com.
