OTD: Man who hit first T20I century for England, Alex Hales was born in 1989

English Cricket has always been treated and looked at as the biggest alma mater of the sport. Since the game of cricket came into being, many players have played for the Three Lions. 

Alex Hales was a breath of fresh air when the English side was known for its dour white ball cricket. The lanky youngster from Nottingham came in with a huge promise and ended his career perhaps too prematurely. 

From his debut in 2011 to his retirement in 2023, Alex Hales saw his career swing to both sides of the pendulum. From a certainty to Eoin Morgan famously claiming Hales had “Lost Trust of the Team”, he had seen it all. 

Alex Hales – Prodigious but unfulfilled career – 

It was the 27th of March, 2014 when Sri Lanka and England faced each other in Chattorgram during the 2014 T20 World Cup. The eventual winners batted first and scored 189 against Stuart Broad and his side. 

Needing 190 to win, England got off to a bad start losing Michael Lumb and Moeen Ali to Nuwan Kulasekara in the first over. Young Alex Hales though decided to fight fire with fire and scored an imperious century to help his side win the game. 116 not out from 64-balls with 11 fours and 6 big sixes, was the first ever century for England in T20I format. 

Despite an early exit from the tournament, Alex Hales had found new fame and England a new match winner. For the next few years, the tall batter was given many opportunities. His fortunes changed when Eoin Morgan became the England captain after the dismal 2015 ODI World Cup showing in Australia. 

Eoin Morgan wanted his England side to play fearless cricket and step away from the safety first approach. It was during this phase that Alex Hales and Jason Roy flayed each and every bowling attack that was in front of them. 

Despite his reputation, Alex Hales wasn’t a mindless batter. There was a method behind the madness and each ball counted when Hales was at the park. Just as things were looking up for Alex Hales his world fell apart in 2019. 

Mere days after being selected for the ODI World Cup, Alex Hales was handed a three week ban. Eoin Morgan was livid and vented his ire at Alex Hales, and despite some tall scores across the world, there was no coming back. 

It all changed during the 2022 T20 World Cup, where Alex Hales and Jos Buttler were at the forefront of brutal assault on India. Adelaide Oval saw Rohit Sharma and his men turn into mere ball-boys as the English batters won by ten wickets. The personal vindication was complete when Alex Hales was part of the team that beat Pakistan to win the title. 

As the allure of the global T20 leagues grew, Alex Hales decided to end his three lions journey. At the age of 34, perhaps what would have been his cricketing prime, the lanky batter from Nottingham had given it all up and walked into the sunset.