Since Alex Hales has been dropped from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 squad due to using recreational drug, he hasn’t returned to the international cricket yet. English limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan has recently talked about how Hales can return to the England team.
Ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Alex Hales was not only the regular member of England limited-overs squads, but he was also one of the most crucial members for his team. As an opener, he was a very strong performer. He was even selected in the 15-member initial England squad for the CWC 2019.
But later, due to the positive test result for a recreational drug during hair follicle test, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) suspended him for 21 days as it was his second violation. Immediately, the ECB decided to remove him from the CWC 2019 squad, and since then he hasn’t returned to the national team.
However, Alex Hales is currently in very good form with the bat. In the Big Bash League 2019/20, Hales served for Sydney Thunder and finished the tournament as the second most run-scorer. The right-handed batsman scored 576 runs in 17 innings with an average of 38.40, including six half-centuries. His strike-rate was also very strong of 146.93. During the BBL 2019/20, Hales once hit four half-centuries in five matches.
Alex Hales is one of the best players in the world: Eoin Morgan
After the end of the three-match T20I series against the hosts South Africa, which England won by the 2-1 margin, English captain Eoin Morgan spoke about Alex Hales. While Hales’ exclusion happened due to the trust issue, Morgan believes that it will take time to regain trust.
Morgan said, “There was a breakdown in trust between Alex and the team. When he was deselected, it was never down to performance. He is one of the best players in the world. Moving forward, to regain that trust there needs to be a considerable amount of time.”
The 31-year-old Alex Hales made his international debut in August 2011 through the T20I cricket. He has played 11 Tests, 70 ODIs and 60 T20Is for England. Though he is currently not playing the first-class cricket since 2017, he is involved in the limited-overs formats.