• Alex Hales calls time on international career.
• Hales also mentioned that he plans to continue his cricket career.
• Hales also had a brief stint in Test cricket.

England’s opening batsman Alex Hales made an announcement that he is immediately retiring from international cricket.

At the age of 34, he leaves the sport as a T20 World Cup champion, with his final match being against Pakistan in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in November. In his retirement statement, Hales also mentioned that he plans to continue his cricket career by playing in franchise leagues.

“Throughout my time in an England shirt I’ve experienced some of the highest highs as well as some of the lowest lows,” Hales said in an Instagram post.

“It’s been an incredible journey and I feel very content that my last game for England was winning a World Cup final.

“Throughout the ups and down I’ve always felt a huge amount of support from my friends, family and undoubtedly the best fans in world cricket.

“I look forward to continuing to play for Notts and exploring more franchise cricket around the world.”

Although he represented England in all three formats of the game, Alex Hales was primarily known for his performances in T20Is and ODIs. He was prolific in T20Is, scoring 2074 runs in 75 matches with an impressive strike rate of 138.35. In ODIs, he managed to accumulate 2419 runs in 67 innings, which included six centuries.

Hales also had a brief stint in Test cricket, playing 11 matches between 2015 and 2016. During this period, he scored five half-centuries but had a modest average of 27.28.

His T20I debut took place in 2011 against India in Manchester, while he made his ODI debut against the same opponent in Cardiff in August 2014.

However, his ODI journey came to an end in 2019 after his last match against West Indies, and he hasn’t been a part of the ODI team since then.