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 United Arab Emirates next month.

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

Moeen and Stokes, who will continue his injury rehabilitation in the UAE, will assist head coach Andrew Flintoff for a three-match T20 series and five 50-over matches against Pakistan’s second string.

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

Elite national pace bowling lead Troy Cooley, who rejoined the England set-up last week, former South Africa batter Neil McKenzie, ex-England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor, former Durham seamer Neil Killeen and Amar Rashid, brother of England spinner Adil, make up the rest of the coaching party.

Jordan Cox and Dan Mousley will captain the respective T20 and 50-over squads on the Lions’ first away white-ball series since touring Sri Lanka in 2022.

The pair are joined by fellow full internationals Saqib Mahmood, who is named in the T20 squad, and Matthew Potts, who will play in the 50-over matches.

Essex seamer Sam Cook, who won his one Test cap against Zimbabwe last summer but missed out on the Lions touring party that shadowed the Ashes squad, is named in both squads.

The highly regarded James Rew, Asa Tribe and James Coles also feature in the squads, while Scott Currie has been selected after being ruled out of Scotland’s T20 World Cup squad.

“It’s exciting to have such a strong England Lions squad selected,” said ECB men’s performance director Ed Barney.

“This group brings a real blend of proven performers, exciting talent who have performed over the winter and retains an eye on future best.

“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.”

Rashid has previously coached England pathway cricketers and joins the Lions coaching staff for a spell before returning to the South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA), which has produced a number of players for county sides.

“We’ve seen just what Amar is capable of as a coach and it comes as little surprise to us that his skills have been recognised by those running the Lions set up,” said SACA founder Tom Brown.

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

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