In his match-winning knock of 187 not out, Alex Hales not only secured the Royal London One-Day Cup for Nottinghamshire Outlaws, he also added yet more records to his ever-growing haul.
The England opener was imperious throughout as the Outlaws defeated Surrey by four wickets at Lord’s, smashing 20 fours and four sixes from his 167 balls in one of the great individual displays the domestic game has seen.
His knock saw him soar past Geoffrey Boycott to claim the record haul in a county final, at 146, held since 1965. Remarkably, in the same game, Surrey’s Mark Stoneman fell just two short of Boycott himself as he held his side’s innings together to help set the Outlaws 298 to win. At 150-5 at exactly halfway through Notts’ reply, Hales’ brilliance didn’t look like it would be enough as he was running out of partners before a captain’s innings from Chris Read helped him see the job through.
As if Boycott’s record wasn’t enough, Hales also hit the fastest century in a Lord’s final and beat his own highest ever one-day score.
Taking aside his remarkable day to secure the first piece of domestic silverware of the season for his county, Hales is quite simply a record breaker. He thrives on the big stage and time after time delivers memorable moments of stunning brilliance.
He has to his name England’s highest one-day score, hitting 171 at his home ground Trent Bridge against Pakistan last year, while his unbeaten 116 led the Three Lions to an epic success over Sri Lanka at the 2014 Twenty20 World Cup. It was the first time an England player had reached 100 and, as yet, the score hasn’t been bettered.
He’s also part of the most 100-wicket partnerships in international T20 history, with six, and once creamed six sixes in an over for the Outlaws.
It’s enough to retire a happy man. But does Hales get the credit these records and his outstanding batting ability deserves? There’s an argument to say he doesn’t. While the likes of Joe Root and Ben Stokes rightly claim much of the headlines, Hales is box office when it comes to the limited overs format for England. If he goes well at the top of the order, England invariably win the game.
Not many others in the side can destroy attacks so effortlessly. Only Jos Buttler can rival his boundary-hitting ability and he’s done it in all parts of the globe against all kinds of attacks. Spin, seam, raw pace – Hales can play against anything and anyone with his breathtaking stroke play all around the ground.
But there are dissenters, and much of it perhaps comes with the slight snobbery English cricket fans have around the Test game. Of course, it is the ultimate format still and remains the truest test of a player’s ability. And Hales disappointed when given his chance over five days for England, in truth.
However, that his record-breaking highest England one-day score came just after he had been through the mill against Pakistan’s Test attack with a miserable run of scores over four matches shows his character.
And the tempo of his innings for the Outlaws against Surrey illustrated a growing maturity to his game. He set off at his usual lightning speed – the only blemish coming when Surrey’s Sam Curran dropped him on nine, clearly a defining moment – giving the Outlaws a dream start with a flurry of boundaries. But as wickets tumbled around him he reined it in, choosing his shots and waiting for a partner to stay with him. Finally Read did, allowing Hales to go back to his swaggering best to see the job through.
Sometimes, it’s easy to pick out what a player doesn’t do. Hales had enough chances and couldn’t prove himself at Test level. Indeed, his County Championship form for Notts has rarely showed signs of improving since then. However, highlighting the things he is good at would be fairer and would let supporters be more appreciative of a quite stunning talent.
That Hales wasn’t even in the thinking for the start of England’s Test summer is perhaps a tad remiss given his form. But this record breaker will likely not be out of the headlines for long.
