Getting Dropped From England's 2019 World Cup Squad Was A 'Sickening' Blow: Alex Hales
Updated - 20 Feb 2021, 01:30 PM
Swashbuckling white-ball opener Alex Hales has described his axing from England’s 2019 World Cup squad as a ‘sickening blow’.
Alex Hales was dropped from the England squad for the 2019 World Cup after he returned positive for using drugs twice. Following the results, Hales was immediately removed from the squad with James Vince taking his place in the set-up.
At the time, captain Eoin Morgan has described the incident as a breach of trust by the opening batsman and since then Alex Hales hasn’t found a place in the white-ball set-up.
Alex Hales emerged as the top-scorer in the Big Bash League but he was still not considered for the white-ball leg of the Indian tour. He last represented England in a T20I against the West Indies in March 2019.
“At first, watching the whole thing unfold was sickening. It is really quite hard to put into words that feeling when you’re told the bad news. That drive home was probably the worst I’ve ever felt in my life.” Alex Hales told Sky Sports.
Pwoah, Alex Hales is in a mood tonight! 21 runs from the over if you don't mind ? #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/PKc5ZYxhti
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 13, 2021
‘I’d love to be able to force my way back into that limited-overs side somehow’- Alex Hales
Alex Hales further revealed that he had tried to talk to skipper Eoin Morgan last year but according to him, the England captain was not ready to have that conversation.
“I feel like two years is a very long time in an international sportsman’s career – two years is a very long time at the peak of your cricket. I sent a message to Morgie around April last year, just as we went into lockdown, but obviously it’d only been a year since it happened, so he wasn’t ready to talk about anything like that. I’d like to have some conversations with some people over, hopefully, the next couple of months and see how I can go about regaining trust as I’m currently not around the squad,” Alex Hales added.
The swashbuckling opener, who recently went unsold in the IPL auction, said that he still has what it takes to succeed at the International level.
“The pinnacle of cricket is still international cricket, so I’d love to be able to force my way back into that limited-overs side somehow. I think I’m a lot better [now], but I guess it’s hard to tell when you’ve not played for a couple of year. I still feel like I’m sharp, and fit. I still feel like I can challenge the best bowlers in the world, so I definitely feel like I’m good enough to still be playing, and hopefully, I can get another crack,” Hales signed off.
