Alex Hales “not thinking” about England return

England’s star opening batsman Alex Hales has said that he is not thinking about England return “at the moment.”

Since his axing from the limited-overs side in 2019,  including from the World Cup squad, the opener has been serious in performing for other teams in order to get back in the national side. Alex Hales even kept himself away from the social media and kept his expectations of an England return.

“At the moment, I’m not thinking about it. If I get another crack at international level then great, and if not then I’m going to keep enjoying cricket. It was something I used to look at a lot, but I just want to focus on enjoying my cricket and contributing to winning teams.”

He has been playing league matches since, including the fifth season of Pakistan Super League and the ongoing Big Bash League. He was the part of winning squad of Karachi Kings in the PSL 5, who beat Lahore Qalandars by five wickets to clinch their first title. He was the second-highest run-scorer for the Karachi Kings, where he scored 272 runs at an average of 45.

Apart from Pakistan Super League, where he is now traded with Islamabad United for the sixth season, Hales has been on top form in the ongoing BBL 2020-’21. In twelve matches his has played with his team, Sydney Thunders, he is the leading run-scorer in the tournament so far. He has scored 462 runs at an average of 38.50 at strike rate of 165, including a century yesterday where his side put on their highest BBL score.

The Sydney Thunders currently sits at third and the English opener feels that it was the best he have played and It “feel like it’s in the peak of my career.”

Meanwhile, former England captain Michael Vaughan tweeted that Alex Hales deserved to be in the side following his recent form and performance. Hales, who for a while has stopped tuning in to social media now, spoke of enjoying his game in the shortest format as age and experience has brought more clarity to his batting.

“I’m 32 now and I feel like I know my game really well, and I’m just going to keep looking to impress whenever I get a chance. Particularly in T20 cricket, the older you get the more you understand what your strengths are. I think the experience you get in T20, playing in different conditions, you’re always improving and I guess since I’ve stopped playing red-ball cricket (in 2017) it’s given me a lot more time to focus on my white-ball skills.”

Alex Hales has represented England in 11 Test matches, 69 One Day International matches and 60 T20 International matches. He was the part of the runner-up squad of England in the ICC World T20 2016.

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