Alex Hales Terms England ‘Favourites’ for the ICC World Cup 2019
Mar 25, 2019 at 8:18 PM
England opening batsman Alex Hales has urged his teammates to perform as per to the expectations. He wants them to deliver under pressure to win their maiden World Cup title. The ICC World Cup 2019 will commence from May 30 in the United Kingdom.
The 30-year-old Hales had been the part of Pakistan Super League (PSL) recently.
England favourites for the ICC World Cup 2019: Alex Hales
Interestingly, the fearless top-order batsman Hales is keen to come good in the ODI showpiece for the Three Lions. It’s important to point out that Hales revealed he does not set his personal goal for the longer run.
With England team dominating the ODI charts, Hales maintained the Three Lions as a unit had come good with all-round efforts. He added the significant contribution from the players meant a lot for the team over the years.
“England are the favourites and that is based on what we have achieved in the last four years, which has been fantastic. That is why we are currently ranked the No 1 ODI team in the world,” Hales told Sky Sports.
However, the right-handed Hillington-born batsman Hales wants to win World Cup medal during the home-bound quadrennial event.
“I’m not someone who sets myself massive long term goals, but winning a World Cup medal would be outstanding,” Hales told Sky Sports.
In the recent past, England’s white-ball campaign under the leadership of Eoin Morgan has taken to a new high.
While reminiscing about England loss in the 2017 Champions Trophy, Hales believes anything is possible during the knockout stage. However, he reiterated England has been a dominant force to reckon by not losing an ODI series in the last 10 day-long series.
“To not have lost a series in the last 10 ODI series shows that we are the in-form team. But as we saw in the last Champions Trophy anything can happen when it comes to knockout cricket,” Hales stated.
India, Pakistan and Australia are also strong contenders: Alex Hales
While talking about the challenges lying ahead of the ICC World Cup 2019, he added Pakistan’s unpredictability would be threatening for the teams.
“I would say that England, India, Pakistan and Australia are the four main teams in the running to lift the World Cup,” Hales added.
Hoping for the good, the hard-hitting batsman is keen to put up a decent show at the ICC’s mega event. He reiterated it would be crucial once going deep into the tournament.
Hales added there has been a lot to learn and he is hopeful that past experience will help them to improve.
“Hopefully if we play good cricket at the World Cup we will get through to the knockout stages and then it’s all about how we perform under-pressure in those games. Hopefully, we’ve learnt from our past experiences and can go all the way,” Hales inferred.
In conclusion, Hales, who has featured in 70 ODIs to amass 2,419 runs at an average of 37.8. He has slammed six tons and 14 half-centuries to his name since 2014.
England will kick-off the ICC World Cup 2019 campaign on May 30 against South Africa in London.