'We might consider with people who are good cricketers' - Ed Smith hints Alex Hales' comeback in England squad

The right-handed opening batsman Alex Hales can get another chance to reconstruct his career in the international circuit and make a comeback in England’s National cricket team in white-ball format. Since his debut for England in a T20I game against India on August 31, 2011, Hales has featured in 70 ODIs and 60 T20 Internationals amassing a whopping 2419 and 1644 runs, respectively at a strike rate of 95.7 and 136.7.

Hales had established himself as one of the mainstays of England’s batting line-up in the limited-overs format but fell out of the scheme after failing two tests for recreational drug use. The 32-year-old had last played for England in a T20I game against West Indies in March 2019 but was outcast from the team on the eve of the ICC 2019 World Cup.

Meanwhile, with two back-to-back T20 World Cups, the viewers might see a return of Alex Hales in the England. Over the past months, the right-hander has established himself as one of the best T20 batsmen across the globe by playing in various T20 leagues across the globe.

Ed Smith opines on Alex Hales

The opening batsman had a terrific season in the 2020-21 edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) as he finished the marquee tournament as the highest run-getter of the season. Playing for Sydney Thunder in 15 games, Alex amassed a whopping 543 runs at an average of 38.79 and stunning strike rate of 161.6. He also has three 50+ scores and one century under his belt.

It is speculated that such stunning performances by Hales has softened the stance of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as the national selector Ed Smith indicated that Alex might be called for training and practice alongside the main squad in the summer session.

“What I can say is that maybe in the English summer, we are always looking for ways to consider players who aren’t currently in the actual squad to come along to training days, perhaps in the run-up to a series. We might look at something like that in the summer (for Hales) and something we might consider with people who are good cricketers but just outside the actual squad at the moment. Something we do from time to time when there’s an opportunity to keep growing and expanding that group of players.” said Ed Smith as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.