Cricket World Cup 2022: Ben Stokes will work with former friend Alex Hales to win world cup

England captain Ben Stokes used to be friends with the recalled Alex Hales, as they head towards the T20 World Cup, the two are united to win the tournament. Friends? Not so much.

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 06: England captain Ben Stokes speaks with coach Brendon McCullum during a nets session at The Kia Oval on September 06, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Ben Stokes insisted that he and Alex Hales would be united in trying to win the T20 World Cup - but stopped short of giving an endorsement of his character.

Hales will be part of England’s squad for the first time since he was dropped on the eve of the 50-over World Cup in 2019 after failing a second recreational drugs test. The 33-year-old has remained exiled ever since because of “trust issues” while the relationship between Stokes and Hales has become strained, with the all-rounder referring to the opener as his “friend at the time” in Phoenix from the Ashes, a recent documentary about Stokes’s life, when discussing his arrest outside a Bristol nightclub in 2017.

The retirement of Eoin Morgan as white-ball captain and the appointment of Rob Key as England’s managing director of cricket has brought about a change in attitude, however, and Hales has been included in England’s squad for the tour to Pakistan this month and the T20 World Cup in Australia that follows - but only after Jos Buttler, the captain, consulted several senior players, including Stokes.

“Everyone’s goal is to win that World Cup for England - it’s my goal, Alex’s goal and everyone else’s,” said Stokes, who is the England Test captain but not part of the white-ball leadership group.

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 06: England captain Ben Stokes speaks with coach Brendon McCullum during a nets session at The Kia Oval on September 06, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Asked what his relationship with Hales is like, Stokes, 31, gave a diplomatic response. “We’ve both got the same goal, to win World Cups,” he said. Stokes added that it would not be awkward between the two former friends.

The absence of Jonny Bairstow from the Test side for the third Test against South Africa after his freak injury means that Harry Brook will make his debut batting at No 5, and Stokes says that the Yorkshireman, 23, is taking the significant milestone in his career.

“He’s very chilled, relaxed,” Stokes said of Brook. “He doesn’t say much, keeps himself to himself and just does what he does. He trains hard.

“He is a bit dumb, if I can say that, but he’s such a good player. I’ve been called dumb a lot so it’s all fine.”

THE TIMES, LONDON

Originally published as Cricket World Cup 2022: Ben Stokes will work with former friend Alex Hales to win world cup