Ben Stokes, an all-rounder for England, expressed his delight at Alex Hales‘ return to the national team after an absence of more than three years. As a result of a disciplinary incident that occurred in 2017, when the two were engaged in a street fight in Bristol following an ODI match against the West Indies, their friendship is presently strained.Â
After conducting an investigation, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to take disciplinary action against both cricket players.
Because wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow suffered an injury at an inopportune moment, Alex Hales was able to make his return. The opening batter has been in terrific form lately, and his team, the Trent Rockets, has just won The Hundred 2022.
In 2019, he made his last appearance for the national squad before being handed a 21-day ban for the use of a recreational substance just before the ODI World Cup. This suspension occurred before the tournament.
What did Ben Stokes say?
Ahead of the third test match against South Africa, Stokes informed the media that he and Hales’ only objective is to win the Twenty20 World Cup for England.
“At the end of the day, I believe that everybody’s objective is to bring home the World Cup for England. To win the World Cup is not just Alex’s and my objective, but also the goal of everyone else on that team,” said Ben Stokes.
Stokes referred to the batter who was born in London as one of the finest batters in the game’s shortest version and stated the following about him:
“And it’s an injury that opens the door of possibility for someone else. There is no doubt that Alex is one of the very greatest Twenty20 players in the world. And regrettably, because of what happened with Jonny, we were forced to bring another player up, and we all know that Alex is absolutely one of the players who bowlers really don’t want to be bowling at in the T20 format,” added Stokes.
Stokes was also quite outspoken in support of the decision to not include Hales in the ODI World Cup squad for 2019. Eoin Morgan, who was the captain of the team at that time, consulted the more experienced players in the lineup to get their thoughts on the precarious circumstances that surrounded the opening batter. The all-rounder had the opinion that having Hales on the team would have been a source of distraction for the other members of the team.
