Alex Hales Returns to Pakistan, This Time in Different Colors

During his time away from the English team, Pakistan became a second home for Alex Hales. He is probably the most experienced player on the English team when it comes to playing in these conditions. With his experience it is only fitting for him to make a comeback in Pakistan. Through his ban, Alex Hales spent a good amount of time in Pakistan as his own nation discarded him.

In his time away, Alex Hales continuously churned out buckets of runs in the BBL, PSL and the Hundred. He kept making it tougher for England to ignore him, as they continued to give him the cold shoulder. Before his ban, Alex Hales was a regular in the side. From 2014-2018, he went in with a prolific run of scores. His performance in that period was enough to keep Jonny Bairstow away from the top. Following his ban though, Alex Hales came into a situation which made him wonder if he will ever play international cricket again.

After a strong year, and stellar performance in this seasons Hundred, Alex Hales became tough to ignore. Had it not been for Jason Roy’s slump and a freak injury to Jonny Bairstow, Alex Hales would be in Cape Town enjoying some downtime. Instead, he is in Pakistan, the nation that accepted him when England left him out.

His comeback comes with a lot of discussions. The previous skipper Eoin Morgan was reluctant to re-pick him throughout his tenure after 2019. Ideally, Alex Hales, like Jason Roy would work well with Eoin Morgan’s style of leadership. Morgan though, felt Hales lost the teams trust after his ban. There were discussions with former coach Trevor Bayliss as well. As he was the coach when Hales last played, the present staff decided to seek his opinions as well. To add to the discussions, the pub incident in 2017, along with Ben Stokes and a racial slur in the domestic circuit go against him as well. The issue with Stokes though seems sorted. Both player are in the World Cup squad as they fight for the same cause in Australia.

See Also: PAK vs ENG Match Prediction- Who Will Win the Match Between Pakistan and England, 3rd T20I (cricketwinner.com)

After a lot of hurdles, Alex Hales is finally back. He is a lot more mature now, after spending years playing around the world and growing as a cricketer. He knows how to play in Pakistan, and will also know about the competition for his spot. With Jos Buttler slated to return soon, and Phil Salt in the horizon, Alex Hales will know that he has a job on hand. A good series here will ensure that he opens with Buttler in Australia.

Alex Hales is already off to a decent start with a fifty on comeback. The fifty was a little slower than his usual style, but the time spent will help as he finds his way into the squad. With his first innings out of the way, Alex Hales could be seen opening up a lot more in the upcoming games, batting a lot faster and more aggressively. The tour is a fresh start for him, and after this tour he will fly straight to Australia to in a bid to right the wrong of 2019.