Alex Hales has outlined his hopes of breaking into the England side for the upcoming T20 World Cup, piling more pressure on a struggling Jason Roy.
Roy has been in poor form so far this summer, having scored just 76 runs from 98 balls in six T20Is, and England white-ball coach Matthew Mott has hinted that his place in the side is under threat. Hales has not played for England since 2019 after failing a second recreational drugs test and getting dropped on the eve of the 50-over World Cup.
At the time, captain Eoin Morgan blasted Hales for showing a "complete disregard" for the team's values and creating "a lack of trust between Alex and the team". However, with a new regime now in charge, Hales is hopeful of earning a recall.
When asked about his England ambitions after striking 43 off 27 balls as the Trent Rockets defeated Northern Superchargers in The Hundred, Hales detailed his credentials. He told the BBC : "The last three years have probably been the best I've ever played in T20 cricket and particularly this year I feel in a really good place.
"With a World Cup coming up in Australia, somewhere where I've scored an awful lot of runs in the last few years, I feel like I've got a lot to offer [England] in this format for sure."
And James Anderson believes Hales will certainly "be in the mix" for the World Cup, although it may be difficult because England have a dearth of options to open in white-ball cricket.
"Of course they'll be looking at him," Anderson said. "He's somebody who over the last three years has played brilliantly in the T20 format. There's a new captain, a new coach and they will be looking at him.
"But even if it is Jason Roy that is under pressure, there's still a lot of guys that have had opportunities and done well. You look at Phil Salt who came in and did a brilliant job at the top of the order.
"You've got Jonny Bairstow who's batting down the order in T20 cricket who could potentially open. There's so many options there that England have got, but I'm sure he'll be in the mix."
