The making of England’s new batting hero HITMAN HALES
ABIG clue to the personality of the man who broke a 23-year- old record when he smashed Pakistan for a monumental 171 in the third one- day international came in his response earlier this season to a disgruntled supporter on Twitter.
It was only Alex Hales who replied when fan Alexis Fuller tweeted nine England players demanding 10 per cent of his money back after woeful over-rates left nine overs unbowled on the first day of the third Test at Edgbaston.
‘Send me your bank details and I will do it now,’ Hales tweeted to a shocked Fuller, who found £4.10 promptly deposited into his account. ‘It was lucky 15,000 others didn’t come forward and message me,’ smiled Hales afterwards.
Further insights into his character came in a revealing interview with the Mail on Sunday earlier this summer when Hales talked about growing up in Buckinghamshire as the son of a club cricketer, Gary, who was good enough to hit 321 in a limited-overs match, and the grandson of a tennis player, Dennis, who once took Rod Laver to five sets.
‘I’m a bit of a chav at heart so drum and bass has always been my favourite music since I was a kid,’ enthused Hales. ‘A bit of hip hop, too. When I passed my test I’d drive around Chalfont St Peter blaring out my music.’
The 6ft 5in opener, now proud holder of the highest individual score in England’s one-day history — overtaking Robin Smith’s nearmystical mark of 167 — is open like that and tends to wear his heart on his tattooed sleeve.
Hales is likeable, popular with team-mates who, according to one source, ‘make him the butt of every joke’, but he has also been known to exasperate coaches with his lack of discipline and apparent doziness.
He is a huge talent capable of the immense power and breathtaking stroke-play that saw him thrillingly take Pakistan apart on his home ground of Trent Bridge — but one with his Test place in jeopardy.
There is no doubt the stakes were high when Hales, 27, walked out to open the batting with Jason Roy on Tuesday after the most miserable month of his international career culminated in a showdown with an umpire at the Oval.
The pressure throughout a fourTest series against Pakistan in which Hales had failed to make an impact had clearly got to him by the time he was given out to a disputed catch by Yasir Shah in last month’s final match.
But he made a huge error in marching into TV official Joel Wilson’s office 15 minutes after that dismissal to take issue with the decision, being fined around £1,500 for making ‘ inappropriate comments’ to the umpire.
‘He deserves his fine,’ said Paul Farbrace, England assistant coach and one of the biggest influences on Hales’s attempts to establish himself in Test cricket. ‘You can’t go into the umpires’ office during a game and have a heated exchange, as Alex did. However frustrated he was, it was the wrong thing to do.’
The cricketing gods did not smile on Hales in the rest of that Test as he proceeded to drop the simplest of catches to reprieve Yasir and then made matters worse by making a ‘cry baby’ gesture at Azhar Ali after he was injured.
Pakistan had the last laugh, winning the Test and squaring the series.
So Hales needed to impress going into the one-day series. He remains far more suited to white-ball cricket than the Test stage that sees him averaging 27 after 11 matches and in danger of being dropped ahead of winter series in Bangladesh and India.
It is fair to say, then, that he hit the jackpot in smashing 171 off ff 122 balls with four sixes and 22 fours,urs, even though the crowd realised ed he had broken Smith’s recordd much sooner than Hales did.
‘I knew I was closing in on the record because Jason Roy got close to it at the Oval earlier this season and we were all aware of it then, but I didn’t know I’d got there until it was announced on thee Tannoy,’ he said afterwards.
Curiously, Hales did not evenen play that well in reaching 171. He was caught off a no-ball, droppedpped and almost run out before falling ng to the first ball after he surpassedassed Smith. He then dropped another catch to reprieve Sharjeel Khan, which thankfully could be quickly forgotten when you have the small matter of 444 for three on the board. Heaven knows how many Hales might get when he is at his best.
‘It has been a tough few weeks for me,’ he admitted. ‘The Test series didn’t go to plan but when it comes to white-ball cricket I’ve felt in good form over the last 12 months and I was confident I could post big scores in this series.
‘There were a couple of loose shots in the first couple of games but I guess that can happen in one-day cricket and it was nice to put it right.
‘I’ve had plenty of ups and downs emotionally. I had a good time against Sri Lanka this season but didn’t do myself justice against Pakistan. The Oval Test didn’t help but it’s nice to try to sweep that under the rug and move forward.’
Whether he has done enough even with his record-breaking effort remains to be seen as England coach Trevor Bayliss said ahead of this series that he ‘wasn’t sure’ whether one-day scores would have an impact on Test selection.
The word is England will take Lancashire’s 19-year- old opener Haseeb Hameed to Bangladesh and India with Hales maybe on the plane but having to compete with the teenager to open with Alastair Cook. The Alex Hales story may well have a few more ups and downs before it is fully told.