Alex Hales: England batsman withdrawn from Cricket World Cup squad after ‘failed drugs test’

The explosive opener's World Cup dream is over, but a replacement will be called up

Monday 29 April 2019 10:35 BST

Alex Hales is serving a 21-day ban after failing a second drugs test (Getty)

Alex Hales has been withdrawn from England’s Cricket World Cup squad after the ECB took the decision “in the best interests of the England team” following a second failed drugs test.

After the ECB issued a statement to confirm his removal, managing director of England Men’s Cricket Ashley Giles said: “We have thought long and hard about this decision. We have worked hard to create the right environment around the England team and need to consider what is in the best interests of the team, to ensure they are free from any distractions and able to focus on being successful on the pitch.

“I want to make it clear this is not the end of Alex’s career as an England player. The ECB and the PCA will continue to aid Alex and work alongside his county club Nottinghamshire to give him the support he needs, to help him fulfil his potential as a professional cricketer.”

Hales announced earlier this month that he had “made himself unavailable for selection for personal reasons”, stepping away from both Nottinghamshire and England selection as the new season got underway.

The explosive opener was, however, expected to join up with England's World Cup squad.

Great Sporting Moments: Cricket

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1/10Great Sporting Moments: Cricket

Great Sporting Moments: Cricket

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Great Sporting Moments: Cricket

1.Bradman's final duck, The Oval, 14 August 1948
Cheered to the crease by fans and players for his final Test innings, Donald Bradman needed only four more runs for an average of 100. Facing leg-spinner Eric Hollies, Bradman blocked his first ball but was bowled by his second; one of only 44 Test wickets in Hollies's career. Bradman slowly returned to the pavilion - still the greatest, but bowing out on an almost tragic note.

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Great Sporting Moments: Cricket

2. Jim Laker takes 19 wickets in one test, Old Trafford, 31 July 1956
Another shot at statistical perfection that fell just short. After England had scored 459, Laker took 9-37 as the Australians were bowled out for 84; then, as the tourists followed on, Laker outdid himself, taking 10-53 on a dramatic final evening. England won by an innings and 170 runs, while Laker's off-breaks had earned him the miraculous match figures of 19-90.

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Great Sporting Moments: Cricket

3. Viv Richards mauls England, The Oval, 13 August, 1976
Before the series, England captain Tony Greig spoke of his intention to make the West Indies 'grovel'. But it was the hosts who were humiliated by the touring side. Viv Richards hit 232 in the drawn first Test, while the West Indies won the third and fourth to take the series. But at the Oval Richards hit an unforgettable 291, having been 200 not out at stumps on day one. He scored 38 fours, induced several pitch invasions, and looked well set to break Gary Sobers's Test record of 365 before he was bowled by Greig.

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Great Sporting Moments: Cricket

4. Shane Warne's 'Ball of the century', Old Trafford, 4 June, 1993
Few people in England knew anything about Shane Warne when he came in to begin his first over on the second day of the First Test in the 1993 Ashes series. His first ball drifted well outside Mike Gatting's leg stump, then turned so sharply that it missed both bat and pad to clip the bail on the off side. Gatting took some time to walk, being unable to believe his eyes. A star had been born, and a renaissance in spin bowling had been set in motion.

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Great Sporting Moments: Cricket

5. Brian Lara scores 400 not out, Antigua, 12 April, 2004
Having allowed Matthew Hayden to hold the Test score record for six months, Brian Lara seized it back with a monumental innings at Antigua Recreation Ground in St. John's. It was in the same stadium that he had claimed the record in 10 years earlier (with an innnings of 375) and against the same opponents - England. Meanwhile, his wider first class record - 501 not out - remained intact.

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Great Sporting Moments: Cricket

6. England win the second Ashes test , Edgbaston, 7 august, 2005
A Test match of unparalleled tension, culminating in an impossibly dramatic finale. When Brett Lee hit Steve Harmison through the offside two balls before the tenth wicket fell he almost won the Test for the Australians. At two-nil down England would have needed three straight wins to regain the Ashes. But the ball was cut off, Lee took only a single and Kasprowicz was left on strike, needing three runs. He gloved Harmison to Jones, and England were level. Amid the celebrations, Andrew Flintoff found the time to console brett Lee

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Great Sporting Moments: Cricket

7. Colin Cowdrey saves England with a broken arm, Lord's, 25 June, 1963
In a tightly contested Lord's test, England began the final over with numbers 10 and 11 at the crease. Then Len Shackleton was run out, with two balls remaining. Out came Cowdrey, who had retired hurt earlier after having his arm broken by a ball from Wes Hall - and the draw was saved.

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Great Sporting Moments: Cricket

8. Sobers hits six sixes in an over swansea, 31 August, 1968
The bowler was Glamorgan's Malcolm Nash. The batsman was Nottinghamshire's Gary Sobers, arguably the greatest all-rounder of all time. Sobers hit the first five balls of Nash's over for clean sixes; the sixth was caught on the boundary but carried over - making the first class game's first ever perfect 36.

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Great Sporting Moments: Cricket

9. Mike Atherton v Allan Donald, Trent Bridge, 26 July, 1998
With the Fourth Test of South Africa's 1998 tour closely balanced, Donald, one of the great fast bowlers, unleashed a spell of terrifying ferocity. Atherton, struggling to see the ball in the final session of play, was none the less immovable - even when Donald thought he had edged a catch behind. Donald responded with a combination of four-letter abuse and terrifying bouncers, but Atherton survived until the close, and by the time Donald had him caught at square leg the next morning, the moment had been lost. England won by eight wickets.

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His dream of playing in the tournament now appears to be over, however, with England removing him from all squads ahead of the international summer.

The Nottinghamshire batsman will not travel for the one-off ODI against Ireland in Malahide on Friday and has also been removed from England’s squad for the upcoming T20 international, the ODI series against Pakistan and the preliminary World Cup squad.

It makes life significantly more difficult for Trevor Bayliss, England's coach, who had been hoping to leave the job on a high after the World Cup and Ashes this summer. He is now without Hales for personal reasons, as well as Sam Billings and Ollie Pope through injury.

Billings and Pope have both undergone surgery for dislocated shoulders and will miss months of the season.

England will name a replacement for Hales ahead of the ODI series against Pakistan.

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