Alex Hales still harbours hopes of earning an England recall, three years after he was axed after failing a second recreational drugs test.
The 33-year-old was axed from the England squad which went on to win the 2019 Cricket World Cup and has not played for them ever since. At the time, England's white ball captain Eoin Morgan said Hales had shown a "complete disregard" for the team's values and "created a lack of trust between Alex and the team".
Despite being overlooked by England ever since, Hales still has ambitions of playing international cricket again. "It's always still there," Hales told the Daily Mail when asked about the prospect of a recall.
"I'm trying not to think about it too much. I'm enjoying my cricket playing in different competitions around the world.
"I'm going to continue enjoying myself and if it comes at the end of the road, brilliant." New Managing Director of England Men's cricket Rob Key has left the door open for Hales to be recalled.
Speaking in May, Key suggested Hales would be considered "available for selection" going forward, but questioned whether he was still good enough to get in England's white ball team. "I will have to speak to the people involved in that decision but for me I would have Alex Hales available for selection," Key said.
"Whether he gets in the team is another thing. I personally think he has done his time. But does that mean he gets in the team? That is a different debate."
However, Hales was once again overlooked when England named a 14-man ODI squad to face the Netherlands later this month. The three-match series will be new white ball head coach Matthew Mott 's first in charge
Despite the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Ben Stokes being unavailable for selection due to the series taking place at the same time as England's ongoing Test series against New Zealand, Hales was not picked
