'I had let down my family, friends, team-mates down' - Alex Hales issues apology post drug ban
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English batsman Alex Hales has issued a heartfelt apology to his team-mates as he missed out on a World Cup berth after testing positive for a drug. Hales, who was initially named in England's 15-man squad, was later withdrawn after returning two positive tests for the usage of recreational drugs.
In an incident which rocked English Cricket prior to the start of the World Cup, English batsman Alex Hales was withdrawn from the 15-man squad after testing positive for a recreational drug, with skipper Eoin Morgan publicly criticising Hales for showing "complete disregard” for England’s team culture.
Hales, who was all set to play a key role in England's World Cup campaign, played in the ODI series against West Indies in March and was set to be named in the squad to face Pakistan in May, before the news of two failed drug tests broke out. Having being named in the preliminary World Cup squad, Hales was initially handed a 21-day ban but after the news became public, the ECB decided to drop him from the squad altogether.Â
The 30-year-old has now issued an open apology to all his team-mates, friends and family members, saying that he regrets what he did, and his only aim going forward was to focus on cricket and put everything he did in the past behind him.Â
"I just wanted to apologise to the guys for everything that happened. I got the point across that I had not just let myself down; I had let down my family, friends, team-mates. I had to get that off my chest," Hales said in a video released by Nottinghamshire to promote their Twenty20 Blast campaign.
"I wanted to tell the guys how I was feeling and then just to finish off, wanted them to know I was 100% focused on the cricket now, wanted to move forward, to put those mistakes of the past behind me." he added.
Hales has represented England in 70 ODIs, scoring 2419 runs with six hundeds to his name. He will play for Nottinghamshire in the 2019 Vitality Blast, which is set to commence from July 18th.Â
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