A new cricket season for Notts and a hugely important year for their twenty-three year-old batsman Alex Hales. He’s already made his mark in the first team, played Twenty20 for England and spent last winter in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka with the England Lions – essentially the national reserves team. Is he the future of the Outlaws and the national side?
Who best captures the team’s mood in the Notts dressing room - who’s the emotional barometer?
I’d have to say Paul Franks. He’s probably the loudest one. Everyone knows about it when he’s around.
Last year you scored your personal best against Somerset and were awarded your county cap in front of the Trent Bridge pavilion. Was that your career highlight so far?
It’d be up there, but I’d probably say the highlight so far was my England debut. But a county cap’s a very special thing; I put in a lot of hard work over the years at Notts and that’s a good reward for it.
Did you feel different, once you’d got the cap on?
A little bit, yeah [chuckles]. Probably just a bit mentally different. It’s obviously a great thing to be awarded a cap and I’m wearing it with a lot of pride.
After a strong campaign for Notts, you also forced your way into the England T20 side. Was that a surprise?
You’re obviously going to be a bit surprised before your debut comes along because you never really expect to get in, but once I got in there I was really buzzing for it. I only found out
the day before the squad was announced, so I was obviously very excited. I’ve now played four in total. I want to try and get myself back into that team. I missed the last few games in
Dubai.
What went through your mind as you were walking out to bat?
My plan was to get off the mark, but unfortunately that didn’t happen on my debut. I ended up getting nought. But, psychologically, I was just trying to treat it like any normal Notts game.
International aims for 2012?
Competition for places in in England set-up is brutal right now, with Jos Buttler, Johnny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and others coming through. Well, obviously I want to try and get back in the England Twenty20 team or the England team in any form of the game. It was a very big thing for me.
You once wrote on Facebook that you were “the worst league batsman in the country.” Is that still true?
Without a shadow of a doubt! I’m one of the worst league batsmen in the country. I’ve got an appalling record. I don’t know why that is but I recommend that any clubs in Nottingham don’t get in touch with me.
What are your aims for 2012 with Notts?
I want to try and better what I did last year and get even more runs.
What’s the most important trophy to win next year?
County Championship. The four-day stuff.
Winning the Twenty20 would mean qualification for the T20 Champions League in India, putting you in the shop window for the Indian Premier League. Is that something that appeals?
Yeah. I think any young player would want to try and get in the IPL. It’s a tournament full of all the best players in the world, so that’s definitely an aim. But Notts take every form of the game very seriously and we’ll be trying hard in all forms.
Notts County Cricket Club website
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