Published: Nov 19, 2022, 01:15 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 19, 2022, 01:17 PM (IST)
Abu Dhabi: Playing in Abu Dhabi T10 League has improved Alex Hales immensely while tackling spinners and the format adds more to his game, feels the England opener who was a part of the side that recently won the T20 World Cup earlier this month.
“It (Abu Dhabi T10) certainly improved my game with spin over the last few years, and it’s still an area that I’m looking to get better at, so I’ll be sure to try and top up as much as I can over the next couple of weeks,” said Hales, who would be representing Team Abu Dhabi in the league.
One of the explosive batters in modern day cricket, Hales has provided ample evidence of his batting abilities whenever he walked out to bat.
The right-hander also feels playing in different conditions in different countries all the year round, one has to keep topping on certain areas of his game every time.
“On the subcontinent pitches you more often not tend to have a bias towards spin and you have to make sure you adapt your methods. And I think that’s one of the key things as a franchise cricketer.
“As you’re playing tournaments in different countries and conditions all year round, so you have to keep topping up on certain areas of your game all the time, otherwise you soon get found out,” added the Englishman.
While Hales’ talent and style of play is well documented, the he explained that playing franchise cricket around the globe requires constant work on his skill set. Hales noted that the T10 format adds more to his game.
“I loved the two seasons I’ve played before and I feel like I always leave the tournament a better player, especially when it comes to playing T20 again. The games that you play in T10, you have to tee it up from ball one, I feel like that always helps you in the T20 format too,” he said.
Hales went on to add that taking on the spinners in conditions in Asia needs a little adaptation and noted that his training stints in India have helped him achieve his targets up until now.
The Englishman has been in tremendous form in the T20 World Cup 2022 with 212 runs from six matches. His 86 not out off just 47 runs against India in the semifinals was worth mentioning.
“I’ve played a lot of cricket in UAE so I’m pretty familiar with what to expect, so hopefully I can hit the ground running.
“We have limited time for practice really with the packed schedule, but in the past, I’ve spent time in training camps in India, so I’ve got a rough idea of what my game plan is going to be. I’ve got my methods and hopefully they can work well in this tournament,” stated Hales.
