It is media day at a sun‑drenched Trent Bridge and after Nottinghamshire’s players pose for various photographs, larking around as they do so during a spring ritual that precedes another county season, Alex Hales sits down in front of the old pavilion for a chat.
The England batsman may hail from south Buckinghamshire but this is home; the place where, in 2009 aged 20, he announced himself with a then futuristic 150 not out from 102 balls in a televised Pro40 match against Worcestershire; where he took the West Indies attack for 99 from 68 in just his fourth England outing three years later; where, in recent times, scores of 171 and 147 have powered Eoin Morgan’s trailblazing side to two world-record one-day totals.
Come the World Cup there is a case for Hales to be among the first names on the teamsheet to face Pakistan at Trent Bridge in England’s second group game on 3 June. After all, it is a playing surface he claims to know “like the back of his hand” and one on which, in international cricket, his long-levered style averages 90 from seven innings via an eye‑watering strike-rate of 139.
It’s a neat idea but one which may be funkier than the world’s No 1 team need to be. After all, as has been the case since he and Ben Stokes got tangled up in a street fight at 2.30am on 25 September 2017 following a one-dayer against West Indies in Bristol, Hales sits outside the first-choice XI. From having been central to the first half of Morgan’s revolution, he has spent 18 months as an overqualified first reserve, dropping in when injury allows but running drinks in the main, looking on while Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow have forged one of the world’s most explosive opening combinations.
This is his first in-depth interview since the whole sorry saga was wrapped up last December when, for his part in it, Hales accepted two charges from the cricket disciplinary commission of bringing the game into disrepute. One was for the fight, the second for lewd images that circulated in the aftermath, with the commission handing down a six-match suspension and fines of £17,500 (four games and £10,000 of which were suspended for 12 months). As you might expect with a sportsperson, the on-field punishment hurt the most.
“I won’t lie, there have been days when it has gnawed away at me,” Hales says. “The fines and everything were a dent but the biggest thing was losing my spot. The day I found out I wasn’t playing [the final two ODIs against West Indies] I knew Jason would come in and score big runs. He’s too good a player. And Jonny was in the best form of his life. I saw it coming and it unfolded in slow motion.”
Hales is not looking for sympathy. The events that took place near the Mbargo nightclub were serious enough for him to know he cannot reasonably grumble about his lot. They have been well documented too, albeit with the three men who were tried on charges of affray – Stokes, Ryan Ali and Ryan Hale – offering conflicting explanations in court before ultimately all were cleared.
Nevertheless it would be remiss not to ask Hales about certain aspects of his own involvement, not least having himself avoided a criminal charge despite video footage both of him kicking Ali during the melee, and then telling a police officer he was not present as Stokes was being arrested.
Were those kicks the real Hales? “Not really but it was just a sticky situation seeing a guy with a bottle on the ground. What do you do? Stand there and do nothing? He [Ali] could have glassed Ben and it would have been a hell of a lot worse. You have to make a decision in that time. The guy had a weapon in his hand, he was on the floor and scrapping with a friend.”
Ali told the trial he was holding the bottle in self defence. He said he had no recollection of going towards Hales with the bottle but accepted the video footage showed both that and that he struck another man with the bottle. His defence barrister, Anna Midgley, told the court Ali had been drinking from the bottle. “He didn’t arm himself but there came a time when he used it because he was threatened.” There “may have been a misunderstanding” which caused the violence to erupt, she added.
And how does Hales explain lying to the police – another aspect of the case that was shown on camera in court? “That is one of my real regrets from that night. It was just a really immature moment. I wish I’d said I saw exactly what happened and I was there – but I panicked. I didn’t want to make the situation worse. I just hoped Ben would be released in the morning and that would be the end of it. Nothing would come of it.
“[Stokes] did say to me to disappear. But that is still a regret and watching the footage back I was just cringing, seeing myself lying. I just panicked and said something. I cocked up. The lesson is, tell the truth.”
Like Stokes, Hales claims it was a case of stepping in to defend two others – clubbers Kai Barry and Billy O’Connell – from being assaulted, something Hale and Ali both denied in court. “I think every situation that could have resulted wouldn’t have been a good one,” Hales says. “All six of us wish we could go back to that night and all gone our separate ways.”
Looking on from the outside during the legal proceedings – neither he, Barry nor O’Connell were called as witnesses – Hales says he suffered. While he was questioned under caution, he was never arrested and he recalls his reaction at not being prosecuted. “Of course it was a huge relief,” he says. “The whole situation was really tough to be a part of and to see Ben go through some really difficult times. It was tough [to watch the court case unfold] and I felt for his family, who are such nice people.”
There were those, though, who thought Hales should have been on trial. A barrister for Hale, who was acquitted on the direction of the judge, criticised the crown prosecution service for not charging him. With the jury absent, Stephen Mooney had told the judge: “I struggle to understand how the crown, in adopting the stance they have, have come to the conclusion that overt acts of direct violence used by an individual to someone on the floor is not worthy of prosecution.”
There was one final involvement, however, when, in front of the jury, Stokes’s lawyer, Gordon Cole QC, suggested in his closing speech that Ali’s fractured eye socket could just have easily been caused by the kicks from Hales and later crediting this element of doubt as a possible reason for the not-guilty verdict that resulted. Hales says: “It was tough to hear but at the end of the day, Ben and his team had to find a way to win the case. I wasn’t in court. That’s how it is.”
Did it cause any issues between the pair? “Certainly not on my part. I don’t know his … but no, not for me. Fortunately that chapter is closed for both of us and we’re looking to move on.
“It’s just shows, something can escalate from nowhere. It was also an eye-opener to how much we are in the public eye as England cricketers. You have to mature and put yourself in the right situations, not be out at 2.30am in the middle of a series. It’s a lesson learned the incredibly hard way.”
Hales has no axe to grind about his treatment from the England and Wales Cricket Board – he insists initial harsh words were followed by support – and is liberal in his praise of captain Morgan in particular. “He said: ‘It’s a tough situation for you guys but if you need anything, just get in touch. I will be there for you,’” he adds.
And on a personal level the “moving on” process is well under way, even if an element of his punishment must still be served this week when, at his own expense, he undergoes a training course in Birmingham. It relates to the use of social media after Snapchat images of him in a state of undress – ones he says dated back seven years – went viral during the fallout from Bristol.
Cricket-wise, as well as trying to take his rare chances with England, Hales has spent the last 12 months as a white-ball specialist. Spells playing Twenty20 in Bangladesh and Pakistan during this winter just gone have caught the eye, not least since he joined Morgan in missing a tour to the former in 2016 for security reasons.
“There was so much public interest at the time of that decision,” Hales says. “There had been a terrorist attack in Dhaka and I just didn’t feel comfortable, knowing we’d be the most high profile western people there. It didn’t sit well with me.
“But two years is a long time. I spoke to guys on that tour, who said it was fine, and there have been two Bangladesh Premier Leagues since. I spoke to [the ECB security adviser] Reg Dickason and players from those tournaments and felt OK. Things can change.”
Hales admits it is unlikely he will ever add to his 11 Test caps – “I think there are only a handful of players who can be truly world‑class at all three formats and having played all three, I’m not one of them. But I think I can be in white-ball” – and he now will look to see out his career in the shorter formats.
He claims to be relishing the self-sufficiency this career path brings – the money, he claims, is so far slightly less than before – and is grateful to the “world-class” coaching staff at Nottinghamshire who, under Peter Moores, help cater for his specialism.
But has he changed? Before speaking to Hales, two members of the England coaching setup were approached for a steer and the feedback was encouraging. He has, they said, redoubled his efforts in training over the past 18 months, worked heavily on some shortcomings in the field and upped his fitness levels.
Nevertheless, the week before our chat a story appeared in the Sun newspaper about his private life. While not interested in the details, he is asked how it feels to be described as “cricket bad boy” in the intro. “That’s not something you like to hear. And I don’t think I’m bad,” he replies.
“Sometimes I make mediocre decisions – I always have – but I don’t want to make them any more. It takes 10 seconds to get an image and 10 years to undo it. I’m 30 now, not 20, and I’ll be doing whatever I can for the rest of my career to change perceptions.
“The last year and a half, there have been ups and hell of a lot of downs. All I will be focusing on is cricket. It’s the biggest year in English cricket history. I will be doing everything I can to be the best I can. It’s been so special being in this England team and when you lose your spot you realise it.”
Before we conclude, the age-old question is asked as to whether England can indeed win the World Cup. “Yep. I’m going for it and saying yes. I’m the most excited I have ever been. I really think we’re going to do something special,” he says with a smile.
Whether he is part of the team who do so remains to be seen. But for all his previous shortcomings in the decision-making department, that a batsman with the talent of Hales is pushing hard in reserve can only augur well for their prospects.