(Reuters) – England batsman Alex Hales has announced his retirement from international cricket at the age of 34, drawing the curtain on a controversial career on Friday.
The right-hand batsman, who played 11 test matches, 70 one-day internationals and 75 Twenty20s for England, was dropped from England’s 2019 ODI World Cup squad after news of a failed recreational drugs test broke a month before the tournament and spent nearly three years in exile.
He was called back for the 2022 T20 World Cup as a replacement to replace the injured Jonny Bairstow, a tournament England went on to win.
“I have decided to retire from international cricket. It has been an absolute privilege to have represented my country…,” Hales said in a post on Instagram.
Hales was also fined and suspended for his involvement in a nightclub altercation with team mate Ben Stokes in 2017.
“I’ve made some memories and some friendships to last a lifetime, and I feel that now is the right time to move on,” Hales added.
“Throughout my time in an England shirt, I’ve experienced some of the highest highs as well as some of the lowest lows. It’s been an incredible journey, and I feel very content that my last game for England was winning a World Cup final.”
Hales, who plays for Nottinghamshire County, said he will continue to play franchise cricket.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
