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Alex Hales scores highest individual score for England in ODIs

England's Alex Hales breaks Robin Smith's 23-year-old record.

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Scorecard featuring Alex Hale’s milestone © Getty Images

Test series against Pakistan was a debacle for Alex Hales. He scored 145 runs at 18.12. But One-Day International (ODI) is a different-ball game. Not that he isn’t armed with Test-cricket technique, but he couldn’t apply himself sensibly. He knew his place was on the line, and he needs to punch well above his weight to keep his spot intact. He did so, and did it style. He scored 171 off just 122, registering highest individual score for England. Earlier, the record belonged to Robin Smith, plundering an unbeaten 167 against Australia at Edgbaston in 1993, which means it took 23 years for an Englishman to break the record. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs England 2016, 3rd ODI at Trent Bridge

Hales’ innings was studded with 22 fours and four sixes. Agreed that the Nottingham track provides very little for the bowlers, but to build such big innings is not an easy task. Given Pakistan had likes of Mohammad Aamer, Yasir Shah and Wahab Riaz at their disposal, this innings of Hales will be rated highly in the shorter formats. Also read: ENG post highest ODI total, break decade-old record

Highest ODI individual scores for England
Player R BF SR Against Venue Date
Alex Hales 171 122 140.2 Pakistan Trent Bridge August 30, 2016
Robin Smith 167* 163 102.5 Australia Edgbaston May 21, 1993
Jason Roy 162 118 137.3 Sri Lanka The Oval June 29, 2016
David Gower 158 118 133.9 New Zealand The Gabba January 15, 1983
Andrew Strauss 158 145 109.0 India Chinnaswamy February 27, 2011
Andrew Strauss 154 140 110.0 Bangladesh Edgbaston July 12, 2010
Andrew Strauss 152 128 118.8 Bangladesh Trent Bridge June 21, 2005
Bill Athey 142* 172 82.6 New Zealand Old Trafford July 18, 1986
Graham Gooch 142 134 106.0 Pakistan Karachi November 20, 1987
Ian Bell 141 125 112.8 Australia Bellerive Oval January 23, 2015

Not long ago did Jason Roy registered the second highest individual score for England. With Hales’ top-drawer knock, Roy is now pushed down to No. 3 in the table. FULL CRICKET UPDATES: Pakistan vs England 2016, 3rd ODI at Trent Bridge

On the other hand, former England captain Andrew Strauss is the only Englishman to score three scores of 150 plus (against New Zealand, India and Bangladesh), and all three in different countries: Australia, India and Bangladesh.

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