Big-hitting England batsman Alex Hales has taken a break from the game for personal reasons, the 30-year-old’s club side Nottinghamshire said in a statement on Friday.
Hales was named in England’s preliminary World Cup squad recently. He has been an important member in the 2019 World Cup hosts’ rise as a One-day International force in recent times, but has fallen behind the pecking order after the emergence of Jonny Bairstow as an opener alongside Jason Roy.
Hales missed his club’s Royal London Cup match against Lancashire. “Alex Hales has made himself unavailable for selection for personal reasons and no timetable has been set for his return to action,” Nottinghamshire said.
England are scheduled to meet for a training camp next week. They will be playing ODIs against Ireland and Pakistan ahead of the World Cup. England will be playing their opening match of the quadrennial event against South Africa. Hales’s availability for the tournament is still uncertain.