Alex Hales has announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect. The England batter has called time on an international career that has spanned nearly 12 years.
Hales made his debut against India in a T20I in August 2011, and has since featured in 75 T20Is, 70 ODIs and 11 Tests for England. His overwhelming success came in the T20 format, where he excelled with his aggressive style of play and fell just one run short of England's first ever T20I hundred in 2012.
Hales signs off from the international game as a T20 World Champion, contributing handsomely to England's successful campaign in 2022, scoring a stunning 86* in the semi-final against India to drive his side into the final.
This confirms Hales's availability for franchise cricket around the world, and gives him the freedom to commit to his franchises. Earlier this year, Hales opted out of England's tour of Bangladesh to play in the Pakistan Super League, and was likely to have another overlap later this month.
Hales has the distinction of being the highest scorer in two of England's highest ODI scores before 2022 - 171 of his team's 444 against Pakistan in 2016, and 147 of England's 481 against Australia in 2018. England have scored a 498 against Netherland since then, with an XI that didn't include Hales.
Hales was once the No. 1 T20 batter in the world, and remains one of the most sought-after T20 batters in the world, having played a total of 405 T20s for over ten franchises and England, and aggregating over 11,000 runs in the format at a stunning strike-rate of 147.
