Bale, Ali and Muirhead named in Queen's Birthday Honours list

Wales captain Gareth Bale, England all-rounder Moeen Ali and Olympic gold medal-winner Eve Muirhead were among those named in the Queen's Birthday Honours list on Wednesday.

Bale has been awarded an MBE for services to football and charity. The Cardiff-born forward, who is Wales' record goalscorer, won 20 trophies and scored over 100 goals for Real Madrid, including three in Champions League finals.

Bale also donated over one million euros to hospitals in Wales and Spain in April 2020 in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, and has also supported other charities in his home country.

Ali has been awarded an OBE for services to cricket, in recognition of his 16 years in the professional game including 225 appearances for his country across all formats.

Since he first represented England in 2014 as a Birmingham-born athlete of Pakistani heritage, he has been a beacon for British Asian sport, an ambassador for inclusivity in a system that has been ravaged by allegations of discrimination and a proud exponent of Muslim faith.

"It's an honour to be recognised, it's amazing and my family are really proud and happy. More than anything, I know it makes my parents happy," he said.

"It's not about runs and wickets. I think it's more about the journey I've been through and all that kind of stuff, I guess. It's my background, my upbringing and all that. All those kinds of things I've been through throughout my life.

"With the work and the stuff I've done I think it is something I'll look back on at the end of my career and think it was special, it was a great journey and really well worth it in the end."

Muirhead, who was part of Great Britain's gold medal-winning women's curling team at the Winter Games in Beijing earlier