"Every tournament I play is a reminder that I am still an international quality player" - Alex Hales

England batsman Alex Hales feels that every tournament that he is a part of, he has a motive to prove to everyone that he is still good enough to play international cricket. The opener tested positive for a recreational drug just before the 2019 World Cup and has not played international cricket since.

Even when the entire main England squad went into isolation and a new team had to be announced for the Pakistan ODI series, the England and Wales Cricket Board decided to overlook Alex Hales.

How does Alex Hales not play for England is beyond me. How can the ECB allow a personal fiasco to continue for this length of time?! #hundred #hales #england

— Nick Compton (@thecompdog) July 26, 2021

However, the 32-year-old isn't disheartened and believes in continuing to work hard and being consistent until the day he receives his England call-up again.

"Every tournament I play is always a chance for me to keep reminding people I'm still an international quality player. I think the last two years I've done that. Every tournament I've gone to, I've performed well and shown people that I'm still that level of a cricketer, so that's all I can keep doing. If that chance comes along again, then great," Alex Hales was quoted as saying by cricket.com

Alex Hales on Trent Rockets' thrilling win

What an absolutely magnificent game of cricket. Alex Hales just sat there and soaked up pressure, took punches, waited and waited - then went. Matt Carter! Ben Stokes! The free hit! The NOISE when Hales hit that final six!OUTSTANDING.

— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) July 26, 2021

Trent Rockets won their latest game in thrilling fashion by two wickets, and Alex Hales played a huge role in it. Chasing a target of 133 runs to win, Trent were in more than a spot of bother at 58-6.

However, a sensible 40* off 34 balls from Hales, coupled with some handy contributions from all-rounders like Lewis Gregory and Rashid Khan, ensured that Trent crossed the line with an over to spare.

Alex Hales shed light on how difficult it was to score runs fluently on the track and also explained his rather patient approach.

"It was a really scrappy, ugly win. I guess that's a sign of a good team because we had our backs to the wall a lot throughout that game and we still managed to come out on top. I always felt that if I was in at the end, we'd have a chance. It was a fairly difficult pitch to bat on, not your typical Trent Bridge pitch, but you can always catch up at the end there, with the fast-scoring outfield and smallish boundaries. I just tried to hang in there and take it as deep as I could," Alex Hales concluded.