T20 World Cup 2022: Alex Hales and Ben Stokes - They may not be best mates, but they have the same mission
The England team is currently gearing up for the seven-match T20I series against Pakistan. The English team got a major setback as their key power-hitter, Jonny Bairstow, was ruled out of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup due to an injury
Once upon a timeAlex Hales, who was overlooked by the English team for three years due to failing a recreational drug test, entered England's T20 World Cup squad. The 33-year-old who had lost trust finally got a chance to make a comeback.
On his inclusion, England white-ball coach Matthew Mott believes that Alex Hales' strained relationship with red-ball skipper Ben Stokes will not influence or affect England's effort to win the T20 World Cup.
Matthew Mott said, "They might not be best mates and that's OK. I'm sure you work with colleagues all the time who aren't your best mate but you can work with them if you've got a common goal. Ben's come out and stated that as well. He wants to win World Cups."
"I'm sure Alex does as well and we all do, so we try and pick the best players and if they end up becoming good mates again that's great; if not, as long as they're going towards that goal of winning the World Cup together, then that's how teams function," he added.
What happened between these two?
Their strained relationship went to 2017 when Alex Hales and Ben Stokes got involved in the infamous brawl outside Bristol nightclub that saw Ben Stokes charged with affray. Though he denied the charges and was found not guilty, the Cricket Disciplinary Commission handed both the players bans and fines.
In the recently released documentary Phoenix from the Ashes, Ben Stokes referred to "my friend at the time, Alex" when addressing the past incident and avoided any question about Alex Hales during interviews about the film. Alex Hales himself did not address his strained relationship with Ben Stokes in the press conference before T20Is with Pakistan. He said, "only looking to the future" rather than dwelling on past events.
All the events associated with Alex Hales made Jos Buttler make several calls to senior players. Even Matthew Potts consulted former English coach Trevor Bayliss who was coach at the time of Alex Hales' last-minute omission from the 50-over World Cup and then decided on him as the best candidate to fill in the spot of Jonny Bairstow.
Alex Hales has gained plenty of experience from domestic leagues across the globe. The series against Pakistan could pave his way back to a more permanent place in England's limited-overs side.