Timid Hales feels heat as he fails again
The real Alex hales failed to stand up again here yesterday as the man who england hope will get them off to explosive starts in the Test series against South Africa prodded and poked around against a modest Invitational XI attack.
It was hard to recognise the opener who will make his Test debut on Boxing Day on the back of his hard-hitting exploits in limited- overs cricket as he crawled to eight off 42 balls — his only four coming from a fumble on the boundary — before he chopped on against the innocuous medium pace of Junior Dala.
hales’ second failure of this first warm-up match of the South African tour meant little in the context of a one- sided contest that england have dominated and will take much from whatever happens today on the final day.
Yet it must concern england coach Trevor Bayliss that the Nottinghamshire opener seems to have retreated a little too far into his shell as he attempts to end england’s long search for a regular Test opening partner for Alastair Cook.
‘I knew he hadn’t played Test cricket so I knew he was under pressure,’ said Dala, who dismissed hales shouldering arms in the first innings. ‘It looks like he is trying to open up the off side every time he faces the ball. I just tried to keep it simple, tuck him up and he struggles on the leg side. It’s nice when a simple plan works.’
Clearly hales cannot expect to come out and immediately blast around bowlers of the calibre of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel on their own patch when england attempt to defeat the No 1 side in the world in a four-Test series here.
But hales will need to be a bit more assertive than this if he is to justify the faith that england have already placed in him on this trip, with Bayliss virtually guaranteeing that his time has come to open in Test cricket.
hales has been working on leaving the ball and england want him to eliminate risks in his first 20 balls before bringing his natural game to the harshest arena he is likely to face.
he took that to extremes in sleepy Potchefstroom, two hours south of Johannesburg, when he failed to score off his first 18 balls of england’s second innings after they had bowled out this scratch home team for 188.
The 26-year-old continued to be too tentative when judicious leaving should have given way to strokeplay and now only has the final warm-up against a strong-looking South African A team in Pietermaritzburg to find his touch.
Not that he is the only england frontline batsman in need of time at the crease before the big Boxing Day date in Durban. Captain Cook for one will be disappointed that he played all round a straight delivery and was lbw cheaply for the second time at this picturesque Senwes Park ground.
Another ‘newcomer’ to this side who looks sure to play in Durban is Nick Compton but where hales was too timid, Compton was too quick to display his expansive side and holed out to deep mid-off for 15.
Gary Ballance was given the chance to bat as the 13th man in this non-first- class match and might just put pressure on Compton in the battle to replace Ian Bell if he can substantially add to his unbeaten six today.
With Steven Finn unlikely to be rushed back, there was something of a ‘bowl-off’ earlier between Chris Woakes and Mark Footitt for the final seamer’s place which was edged by the more experienced Woakes.
england are tempted to gamble on the left-arm pace of Footitt to back up Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes in Durban but he was a little erratic here — even though he claimed two home wickets.
Woakes was steadier and bowled at a good pace but struggled in his second spell. Broad had to come back to bring an end to a last-wicket stand of 51 that limited the home side to a first-innings deficit of 282.
england added 99 more runs to their lead by the close.