Hales back in World Cup squad
EnglanD will today end alex Hales’ international exile when they name him in their squad for the Twenty20 World Cup.
Hales, ostracised by England since he was dumped on the eve of the triumphant 50- over World Cup campaign in 2019, will replace the injured Jonny Bairstow in the 15-man party for the tournament in australia next month.
It looked as though the door was finally closed on Hales when he was initially left out of the squad, even though managing director rob key insisted there were no disciplinary reasons stopping the 33-year-old from returning.
But even as key spoke last Friday Bairstow was breaking his left leg in a freak accident when he slipped approaching the third tee of his local golf club near Harrogate. That gave England a dilemma and they have spent the last three days deciding between the proven quality and experience of Hales and the immense promise of Surrey’s Will Jacks.
It took a phone call between Hales and new England white-ball captain Jos Buttler to clear the air and solve the ‘trust issues’ that have existed between Hales and England’s senior players ever since it emerged he had failed a second test for recreational drugs use.
It is also significant that Ben Stokes, who is Test captain and such an influential figure in the England set-up, has raised no objections to Hales return.
The pair have not been close since the brawl in Bristol in 2017 involving them both which led to Stokes facing charges of affray in court. as recently as last month, Stokes referred to Hales as ‘my friend at the time’ when he talked about the Bristol incident in a new documentary about him.
But England are convinced enough time has now passed and crucially former England captain Eoin Morgan, who was stubborn in his insistence that Hales should not return, has retired.
Whether Hales starts in the team when England play afghanistan in their World Cup opener remains to be seen because Dawid Malan could well be promoted to open with Buttler.
But Hales will be on the plane and the news will be confirmed today. The only question that remains is whether he will join the England squad for the seven-match T20 tour of Pakistan that precedes the World Cup.
Hales played 60 T20s for his country from 2011 to 2019, becoming the first England player to score an international century in the format against Sri lanka in 2014.