Hales takes indefinite break from cricket

LONDON: England’s ODI and T20I batsman Alex Hales has taken an indefinite break from cricket due to ‘personal reasons’.

Hales, who is in England’s 15-man provisional squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, did not feature in his county side Nottinghamshire’s 50-over match against Lancashire on Friday.

On their website, the county side stated: “Alex Hales has made himself unavailable for selection for personal reasons and no timetable has been set for his return to action.”

Hales, 30, has featured in 70 ODIs for England, hitting six hundreds in the format. Last year, he scored 147 at Trent Bridge against Australia, helping England to a record-breaking One-day International total of 481-6.

England’s World Cup campaign is set to begin on May 30 when they take on South Africa. Prior to that, they will face off against Ireland in a one-off ODI, before taking on Pakistan in one T20I and five ODIs.

Alongside his selection for the World Cup, Hales has been named in England’s squads for those matches.