Hales: Our new style is winning over supporters
POWER-HITTING opener Alex Hales believes England’s new-found brand of attacking one-day cricket has turned the tide of public opinion in their favour after the dismay of slipping to a humiliating group-stage exit at the World Cup.
Despite trailing New Zealand 2-1 in the five-match series heading into today’s penultimate fixture at Trent Bridge, England’s change of approach in 50-over cricket has been stark.
England have posted scores in excess of 300 for three one-day international’s (ODIs) in succession for the first time in history, while also amassing a record-breaking total of 408-9 in the opening clash at Edgbaston.
“It looks like we’ve won our fanbase back in one-day cricket,” said Hales. “The last week or so has been really enjoyable, particularly considering how the winter went for us as a squad.
“There are fresh faces and a lot of young talent around this squad. Guys are expressing themselves in the field and enjoying themselves which is key.
“We’re pretty inexperienced so the way the three games have gone, we’ve pretty much matched the Kiwis so far and played some really good cricket, so in terms of how inexperienced we are and how raw we are, I think we’ve done pretty well.”
Hales has featured sporadically for England since making his international 50-over debut in August but has played every match in the series so far and notched his maiden ODI half-century in the second game at the Kia Oval.
The 26-year-old’s only appearances at the World Cup came in England’s ill-fated 15-run defeat to Bangladesh, which confirmed their exit, and the dead-rubber against Afghanistan, and Hales admits he is benefiting from a consistent selection policy.
“In the past I’ve been in and out of the team and never really got a proper go at it,” added Hales. “It’s nice to get a good run at the top of the order.”