England white ball coach Matthew Mott has insisted Alex Hales and Ben Stokes do not need to be "best mates" as they bid to win the T20 World Cup.
Hales has been recalled to the England squad after more than three years in the international wilderness, having been axed in 2019 after failing a second recreational drugs test. Then captain Eoin Morgan was scathing in his criticism of Hales at the time, accusing him of showing a "complete disregard" for his teammates.
Hales was also involved in the infamous 2017 brawl in Bristol which resulted in Stokes being arrested and charged with affray. He was later acquitted at trial and pointedly referred to Hales as his "friend at the time" while discussing the ordeal in his recent Amazon Prime documentary.
