England's Hales serves ban after 'off-field' incident

LONDON: England batsman Alex Hales is serving a suspension for an 'off-field' incident reported to involve recreational drug use.

A Guardian report on Friday claimed Hales, named last week in England's preliminary World Cup squad, is serving a 21-day ban from cricket for the drug incident.

The 30-year-old has been sanctioned under the England and Wales Cricket Board's disciplinary policy for a second time, according to the report.

A spokesman for Hales on Friday confirmed the Nottinghamshire batsman had been suspended "following an off-field incident last year".

The ban is a blow for Hales, who has been selected in the England squad for the forthcoming one-day series against Pakistan ahead of the World Cup.

Hales will still be involved with England's training camp in Cardiff this weekend, with the team's first one-day match of the summer coming against Ireland in Dublin next Friday.

"He will be joining the squad in preparation for next week's games and will be available for selection," the spokesman said.

"Whilst the issue is not cricket related, Hales accepted that it was right that he was suspended.

"He is now fully focused on returning to cricket and is committed to working tirelessly for both Nottinghamshire and England throughout the summer. No further comment will be made on this issue."

An ECB spokesperson said: "We have a duty of confidentiality, therefore we are unable to provide any further comment."

Nottinghamshire issued a statement last week confirming Hales had "made himself unavailable for selection for personal reasons", and "no timetable has been set for his return to action".

As a consequence, Hales missed the start of the national One-Day Cup campaign.

Last year, Hales was suspended and fined by the ECB following his involvement with Ben Stokes in an incident outside a Bristol nightclub during September 2017. - AFP