Alex Hales set to skip red ball cricket in English domestic season

Veteran English batsman Alex Hales has become the second English cricket to skip red ball cricket in the upcoming domestic season. Hales, after Adil Rashid, has decided not to play in the County Championships this year in a bid to focus on the shorter formats of the game. He will, however, continue playing for the Nottinghamshire in the limited overs competition.

The Notts had no other choice but to accept the clause of Alex Hales. If Notts would have persuaded him to play red ball cricket, then the hard hitting batsman would have walked away to some other franchise. Considering his game of play, any team would have liked to pick him for the shorter formats. Notts director of cricket Mick Newell affirmed that Hales will continue to play for them in the shorter formats and the management absolutely understands his decision.

“We retain Alex’s primary contract and we know he’ll be fully prepared to give his best for our white ball teams. He won’t just be picking up a bat the day before his first game of the season,” Newell quoted as per the quotes in the NottinghamPost.

“We are looking forward to Alex being involved again with us for the next two years as he was integral to our success in 50 and 20 over cricket last summer. He’s an outstanding white ball player and we look forward to him helping us win more trophies in that format of the game,” he added further.

Grateful to the Notts

Commenting on the entire episode, Alex Hales thanked the management of the Nottinghamshire for understanding his plea. He remarked that it was a fantastic time playing for the Notts in all the three formats. Now, his focus is to excel in the shorter formats only.

“I’m grateful to the club for extending my deal with them because I love batting at Trent Bridge – it’s my favourite place to play. It was a fantastic year for the Notts Outlaws last year and I believe we can have more success in the future with the players we have at our disposal,” Alex Hales quoted.

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