In a shocking move, England star opening batsman Alex Hales announced his retirement from International cricket on Friday with immediate effect.
In August 2011, Hales made his international debut against India in a T20I held in Manchester. Throughout his cricketing journey, he represented England in 11 Tests, 70 One-Day Internationals, and 75 T20Is.
Coincidentally, his final impactful performance on the international stage also came against India during the T20 World Cup in 2022, hosted in Australia. In the semifinal match, Hales unleashed a breathtaking display, smashing an unbeaten 86 runs off just 47 balls, including 4 boundaries and 7 sixes. This incredible effort, along with Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 80 runs, led England to a dominant 10-wicket victory while successfully chasing down a target of 169 runs at Adelaide.
With a sense of closure, Hales took to his Instagram account to share a heartfelt announcement – he has decided to retire from international cricket.
“Just a note to announce that I have decided to retire from international cricket,” Hales shared in a note on his Instagram account.
”It has been an absolute privilege to have represented my country on 156 occasions across all three formats. I’ve made some memories and some friendships to last a lifetime and I feel that now is the right time to move on,” he wrote.
Hales, whose last appearance for England was in the T20 World Cup 2022 final against Pakistan at Melbourne, said, ”Throughout my time in an England shirt I’ve experienced some of the highest highs as well as some of the lowest lows. It’s been an incredible journey and I feel very content that my last game for England was winning a World Cup final.”
During England’s victorious World Cup campaign in 2019, Alex Hales found himself on the sidelines. The decision came after the team’s captain, Eoin Morgan, and senior players concluded that they couldn’t trust him due to his involvement in a second recreational drugs case, which led to a 21-day ban.
The situation was labeled as ‘a complete breakdown of trust’ by Morgan.
However, it’s essential to acknowledge Hales’ significant impact on England’s white-ball cricket resurgence. One of his remarkable contributions came in the Nottingham ODI against Australia in 2018, where he smashed an impressive 147 off just 92 balls, comprising 16 boundaries and 5 sixes. This phenomenal performance played a pivotal role in England’s massive total of 481/6, making it the second-highest ODI score in history.
Throughout his One Day International (ODI) career, Hales accumulated 2,419 runs at an average of 37.79, including six centuries and 14 half-centuries in 70 matches.
In the T20 format, he notched up 2,074 runs in 75 matches, maintaining an average of 30.95, with one century and 12 half-centuries to his credit. However, his performance in Test matches was relatively modest, managing five half-centuries and scoring a total of 573 runs in 11 matches at an average of 27.28.
