Alex Hales has become the second England player in less than a week to turn down a red-ball cricket contract with his County outfit.
The swashbuckling England batsman has signed only a limited-overs cricket deal with Nottinghamshire. The new deal is for a period of two years.
Just last week, leg-spinner Adil Rashid had turned down a first-class cricket contract with his county side Yorkshire for 2018.
“Alex is entitled to make himself available for whatever format he wants to play, and we respect his decision. He’s an outstanding white ball player and we look forward to him helping us win more trophies in that format of the game,” said Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket Mick Newell.
The decision to do so, Hales said, had come after a long period of contemplation.
“For the next 18 months I’m excited to focus entirely on limited overs cricket and want to be part of a Notts Outlaws team that retains the white ball double,” Hales said in a statement.
“It was a fantastic year for the club last year, and I believe we can have more success in the future with the players we have at our disposal. I’m also hoping to be part of a World Cup-winning squad with England.
BREAKING: Explosive batsman @AlexHales1 signs a new white ball contract with Notts until the end of 2019: https://t.co/1pflcfAAdN pic.twitter.com/8DwjGdTwc8
— Nottinghamshire CCC (@TrentBridge) February 20, 2018
“The decision to focus on my white-ball game wasn’t taken lightly or on the spur of the moment, it’s one I’ve thought long and hard about. It’s also one I’ve discussed at length with the Notts management. I’d like to thank them for their continued support.
The 29-year-old has played 11 Tests for England over the course of his career with his last red-ball appearance coming in August 2016 against Pakistan at the Oval.
He is however a vital component of England’s limited-overs side and is currently in New Zealand with the ODI squad.
Similarly, Rashid has not seen been involved with the Test side in recent times either with his last appearance coming in December 2016 during England’s tour of India.
He was recently snubbed in favour of uncapped Mason Crane for the Ashes series Down Under and that could very well have played a role in his decision to forego first-class cricket for the 2018 season.
