Eoin Morgan answers questions about a possible return for the out-of-favour Alex Hales (1:00)
Eoin Morgan has conceded that there might be a “stigma” attached to calling up Alex Hales for the World Cup, a possibility that has cropped up following the injury to Jason Roy.
Hales was “deselected” in May after it emerged that he had lost the confidence of his teammates following a second drugs test failure. But with Roy facing a race against time to recover from a torn hamstring, there is a possibility England may need to call a replacement batsman into their squad.
As an opener with six ODI centuries behind him, Haled would – in normal circumstances – be the obvious choice. These are not normal circumstances, however. At the time of Hales’ deselection – the ECB do not want to use the word ‘suspension’ for legal reasons – Morgan said Hales had “shown complete disregard for those [team] values” and described a “complete breakdown of trust between the team and Alex”.
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He also revealed that the side’s senior players – Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes – had been party to the decision with a view to ensuring the rest of the squad was not “dragged down.” Meanwhile, team director Ashley Giles had also clarified that Hales’ deselection was “to ensure they [the rest of the squad] are free from any distraction and able to focus on being successful on the pitch”.
Now, a day before England’s next game, against Afghanistan in Manchester, Morgan did not specifically rule out the possibility of an immediate recall for Hales, but there was little in his words that would have given the player any cause for optimism.
“We have not considered replacing any players yet,” Morgan told the BBC. “But If Ed Smith, the national selector, came to myself and Trevor Bayliss, the coach, and said he felt that Alex was the best option, we would have to assess how that would sit in the changing room and the stigma it would bring with Alex coming back.
“Ultimately Ed gets the final call on who is involved in the 15, so then we would have to address how that would look in our changing room.”
Hales’ preparedness for a recall might also be an issue. He has not played since May 12 and is not currently due to play another game until the T20 Blast begins on July 18.
Morgan was optimistic that England would not require a replacement. While Roy has been diagnosed with an injury that, depending on its severity, would be expected to keep a player out of action for anywhere between two weeks and three months, England have decided to keep him with the squad in the hope that he regains fitness in time to play in the final couple of group games, with the match against India (at Edgbaston on June 30) a rough target. The ECB has so far proved reluctant to divulge the extent of the injury.
“He’ll miss the next two games,” Morgan said, “but we’re giving him every chance to take that week to try to respond to treatment. We’re giving him the best chance to get back into the tournament. He’s obviously a huge part of what we’ve been doing. He’s in the best form of his life. So he’s very important.
“I’m optimistic about him returning to the team at some stage. I’ll be very conscious of not pushing it, but that will also be dependent on results, how we’re going in the tournament and what games we need to win to get into the semi-finals. As the week goes along, we’ll find out more about Jason, and the results from the two games we play will reflect decisions that we make.
“There is an element of not considering him until the semi-finals. He is a very key player for us, considering his contribution on and off the field and the form he is in – it’s his career-best. We need that Jason Roy back.”
Source: ESPN Crickinfo