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Jos Buttler opens up on his possible pairing with Hales at the top in the World Cup

image-l8nnryhqHales recently made his much awaited return to the national side. (PC- Twitter)

England's white-ball captain Jos Buttler and Alex Hales are most likely to create a new look opening partnership at the top of the order for England in the T20 World Cup starting next month in Australia. 

Hales, 33, was called up as a replacement for Jonny Bairstow, who was ruled out of the tournament in Australia after suffering a lower limb injury while playing golf. He has been gradually reintroduced into the team as Buttler's long-standing partner- Jason Roy has been left out of the squad, which indicates that Buttler and Hales have to open the batting together in the mega event.

Partnership with Hales will be a crucial one: Buttler

Talking about his possible partnership with Hales at the top, the right-handed opening batter said that partnership will be a crucial one for the team. Buttler also weighed in on the importance of knowing his batting partner to develop a sense of understanding on and off the field.

“If it ends up that it is myself and Alex (Hales) opening the batting, that partnership is a crucial one, getting to know your partner as well as you can, having that understanding, and being able to work together out in the middle and off the field as well," 

After his three-year exile from England, Hales made an immediate impact on his return as he scored a valuable 53. Buttler said that the Nottinghamshire-based cricketer has settled well in the squad.

“Alex has come back into the team after a number of years and seems to have settled back in really well. He has spoken about it feeling like coming back to the family after a long time."

Buttler underlines Hales' success in the BBL

The 33-year-old cricketer has a good amount of experience playing in Australia's Big Bash League, scoring 1857 runs at an average of 33.16 and a strike rate of 151.34 from 60 innings which includes a personal best of 110. Buttler highlighted the lanky cricketer's success in numerous global T20 leagues especially the BBL, will come in handy for the English team in an attempt to claim their second T20 World title.

“We all know he is a class player. He's been performing well around the world and especially in Australia in the Big Bash. That’s one tournament he's done particularly well in.”

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