Alex Hales reveals details of his conversation with ECB director Rob Key

Alex Hales (PC: Twitter)

England’s decorated opening batter Alex Hales finally has a chance to redeem himself. The batter was axed from the England squad just before the ODI World Cup 2019, as he failed a recreational drug test. The chances of Hales playing for the Englishmen again looked slim. However, after being left out of the team for over three years, he has made a comeback.

A few days back England announced their 15-member squad for the T20I World Cup, scheduled in October and November in Australia. Following a series of poor performances from Jason Roy in the summer T20Is, the selectors dropped him to promote Jonny Bairstow up the order.

However, the wicketkeeper-batter succumbed to a freak injury while playing Golf. With Bairstow out from the tournament, England were forced to look at Hales as the opener. Over the last three years, the 33-year-old has delivered some tremendous performances in the domestic tournaments and T20 leagues across the globe.

Hales’ conversation with Rob Key and Jos Buttler

Recently, Hales revealed the phone call he made to England and Wales Managing Director Rob Key and wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler after being left out from the T20I World Cup squad. Hales admitted that he wanted to know if there was any real chance of him making a comeback to the national team.

The right-hander trusts his ability to score runs for the side in Australia during the World Cup. Hales has a lot of experience when it comes to the Australian pitches, as he has been a regular in the Big Bash League.

Hales said as quoted by Mirror:

"I was quite firm and forceful when I rang him. I wanted to know if there was a genuine chance of me playing or whether they were just saying it to the media, so I was quite forceful. I said 'if we're talking purely cricket, I feel like I should be in the squad'. I had nothing to lose, did I?

"I felt like I deserved my spot in that squad if it was picked purely on cricketing merit. I had the right to ask why I wasn't picked; to show that drive, to show I wanted to be part of it. If they give me a chance, I feel I'm more than capable of filling that role at the top of the order, especially in Australia. If I didn't, I wouldn't have made that call."

The 33-year-old has an exceptional record in the T20 Internationals for England. He has played 60 matches in the shortest format of the game, scoring 1644 runs at an average of 31 and a strike rate of over 136.

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