England batsman Alex Hales is set to return to the national team after three years as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday named him in their squad for next month's Twenty20 World Cup in Australia.
Hales last played for England in March 2019 after the 33-year-old was withdrawn from the preliminary 50-overs World Cup squad that year after reports of alleged improper conduct.
While his official ban only totalled 21 days, in line with ECB's policy, Hales was cast out more permanently for what the then one-day captain Eoin Morgan described as a "complete breakdown in trust".
Now, with Morgan retired, Jonny Bairstow sidelined by a freak leg injury and fellow opener Jason Roy dropped due to lack of form, circumstances have contrived to hand Hales a second chance.
Surrey's Will Jacks was positioned as the next man in after being called up for the forthcoming T20 tour of Pakistan, but Hales's experience and wealth on runs on the franchise circuit meant he was picked.
Hales has been prolific in the shortest format, recently becoming the first Englishman to reach 10,000 T20 runs, and also has useful experience in Australia's Big Bash League so knows the tournament pitches well.
England begin their World Cup campaign against Afghanistan on October 22 in Perth.
England squad for T20 World Cup: Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
The%20specs
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Fixtures and results:
Wed, Aug 29:
- Malaysia bt Hong Kong by 3 wickets
- Oman bt Nepal by 7 wickets
- UAE bt Singapore by 215 runs
Thu, Aug 30: UAE v Nepal; Hong Kong v Singapore; Malaysia v Oman
Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal
Sun, Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman; Malaysia v UAE; Nepal v Singapore
Tue, Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore; UAE v Oman; Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu, Sep 6: Final
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Company%20profile
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Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
