Alex Hales ends his international cricket career

• England batter Alex Hales has announced retirement from international cricket with immediate effect at the age of 34
• Hales represented England across three formats and last played for his country in the five-wicket win against Pakistan at the MCG in November last year

England batter Alex Hales has announced retirement from international cricket with immediate effect at the age of 34. The T20 World Cup winner has decided to focus on domestic white-ball cricket with Nottinghamshire and in franchise leagues across the world.

Hales represented England across three formats and last played for his country in the five-wicket win against Pakistan at the MCG in November last year.

Alex Hales played for England 156 times across three formats and helped his country win the T20 World Cup last year. Photo/ The Times of India.

The 34-year-old has been in semi-regular discussion with England’s management for the past nine months, weighing up the balance between his franchise contracts and commitment to the national team. Well, he has decided to end his international career with immediate effect and continue with short-form leagues.

While announcing his retirement via Instagram, Alex Hales said it had been a privilege to represent England.

“It has been an absolute privilege to have represented my country on 156 occasions across all three formats. I’ve made some memories and some friendships to last a lifetime and I feel that now is the right time to move on. Throughout my time in an England shirt I’ve experienced some of the highest highs as well as some of the lowest lows. It’s been an incredible journey and I feel very content that my last game for England was winning a World Cup final.” Hales said in a statement as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Alex Hales made 156 appearances for England across three formats and scored 5,066 runs. His biggest achievement while playing for England is winning the T20 World Cup late last year. Hales scored 212 runs in the tournament with a best of 86.

In 70 one-day internationals, Hales scored 2,419 runs. The 34-year-old also did well in Tests, scoring 573 runs in 11 Tests between 2015 and 2016. He scored 2,074 runs in 75 T20 internationals with a combined seven hundreds and 26 half-centuries.

Alex Hales has announced retirement from international cricket. Photo/ OneCricket.

Hales was the first man to hit a T20 international century for England. His 64-ball 116 not out against Sri Lanka in 2014 is still England’s highest score in the format.

Having last played 50-over cricket four years ago, Hales was not a serious contention to play in this year’s World Cup. However, he had chances of representing England in their defence for the T20 title next year in the United States and the Caribbean. Alex Hales retirement opens up doors for players such as Phil Salt and Will Jacks to represent England.

A short-term specialist, Alex Hales will continue with his cricket career at Nottinghamshire and in T20 franchises. He is currently playing for Trent Rockets in The Hundred and will also be a regular for Australia‘s Big Bash League and the Pakistan Super League.