A county keeper, a famous father, and a fight for the gloves
Thomas Moores is Balkh Zwanan’s English wicketkeeper-batter — a 30-year-old left-hand bat from Nottinghamshire, taken in the Silver round for a reported $20,000. He has no senior England caps yet, and he will compete for the gloves with Afghanistan’s first Test cap, Afsar Khan Zazai.
Balkh Zwanan picked Thomas Moores in the Silver category at the APL player draft in Dubai on 3 November 2026, for a reported $20,000. He joins a 19-player squad captained by Ibrahim Zadran, with Mickey Arthur as head coach and Tillakaratne Dilshan as mentor. Balkh’s overseas group also includes fellow Englishmen Moeen Ali and Luke Wood, and Moores will compete for the gloves with Afghanistan wicketkeeper Afsar Khan Zazai.
Moores is a left-hand batter who keeps wicket and bowls a little right-arm medium pace — the modern county keeper’s toolkit, built at Nottinghamshire, where he wears squad number 23. He has no senior England caps, which makes the APL a stage rather than a shop window: a chance to keep to international spinners and bat in a side full of them.
His father is Peter Moores, the former England head coach, so the game has been the family business for as long as he can remember. That does not keep wicket for him — but it does mean he arrives knowing what a dressing room expects from its keeper, and what a coach expects from a player fighting for a place.
Role, style and draft pick
Wicketkeeper-batter — left-hand bat, right-arm medium pace if needed.
| Detail | Thomas Moores |
|---|---|
| Role | Wicketkeeper-batter |
| Batting | Left-hand bat |
| Bowling | Right-arm medium pace |
| Born | 4 September 1996, Brighton |
| Draft | Silver — $20,000 |
| APL debut | 2026 (did not play 2018) |
Captain: Ibrahim Zadran. Head coach: Mickey Arthur. Mentor: Tillakaratne Dilshan.
APL 2026-27 numbers — none yet
The season starts on Sunday 27 December 2026, so no APL 2026-27 figures exist for any player yet — not for Thomas Moores, and not for anyone else in the league.
There are no APL figures for Moores yet. The 2026-27 season has not started, and he did not play in the 2018 season. His first APL numbers will come after Balkh’s first match.
Where he fits at Balkh Zwanan
Moores’s season is a straight contest: him against Afsar Zazai for one pair of gloves. Balkh Zwanan play eight league matches, and a side that plays that often in under a month will use both keepers — but the first-choice gloves go to whoever keeps best to Ghazanfar’s mystery spin and Qais Ahmad’s leg-breaks, and whoever scores the runs that settle the lower middle order.
His left hand helps his case. Balkh’s batting is right-hand heavy through the middle, so a left-handed keeper-batter gives Arthur a different look late in an innings. The season starts on Sunday 27 December 2026 in the UAE, and the final is on Wednesday 20 January 2027. APL Schedule will carry Balkh’s dates once the fixture list is published, and the season in full is on APL.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Thomas Moores’ father?
Peter Moores, the former England head coach. Thomas Moores is a left-hand wicketkeeper-batter who plays county cricket for Nottinghamshire.
Has Thomas Moores played for England?
No — he has no senior England caps. The APL is his chance to keep wicket and bat in a side full of international cricketers.
Who is Balkh Zwanan’s other wicketkeeper?
Afsar Khan Zazai, Afghanistan’s first Test cap, taken in the Gold round. Moores and Zazai compete for the gloves in APL 2026-27.
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