Hales: I was right to say no to tour...

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE batsman Alex Hales has stood by his decision to withdraw from the England squad that travelled to Bangladesh.

Hales pulled out on safety grounds and hopes that his decision will not permanently affect his Test career. He said:“It was an incredibly tough decision and it took me a very long time to make it.

“There were plenty of sleepless nights. It took me a long time to decide what was best.

“I had to make that decision. It was tough and I stand by it.

“I don’t regret it. I didn’t regret it at the time and I don’t think I will in future.

“If you spend the next few months and years regretting things then it’s pointless.Whatever it is in life, you have to make decisions at the time and stick by them.

“The reaction has been more positive than I thought it would be. I thought I’d cop a barrage on every social media form going.

“At the end of the day it was a personal decision and the stuff I’ve seen on social media has been mixed.

“I hope I’ll play Test cricket again, definitely. I’m not ruling it out. I’ll give four-day cricket with Notts the best crack I can.

“Obviously there’s a lot of one-day cricket around with the Champions Trophy and some one day series.

“It’s a busy summer but I’m going to give it a good go with Notts and hopefully get back in for the Ashes and New Zealand.”

Hales, meanwhile, is keen to win a deal in the IPL.

He added:“I’m not sure what’s happening with the IPL.We’ve got the auction for that.

“If that doesn’t happen then we’ve got three or four games with Notts before the one day stuff starts with England.”