Rex Clementine in Melbourne

Some people get second chances in life and rebuild their careers and go onto succeed. Cricket has many such examples Makhaya Ntini of South Africa, Ricky Ponting of Australia and now Alex Hales of England. The top order batsman was kicked out of the England World Cup squad on the eve of the tournament in 2019 after he had tested positive for recreational drugs. He was given the cold shoulder for three and  a half years and an injury to Jonny Bairstow saw him being called up to Australia from South Africa where he was holidaying. It sometimes helps that you have a more understanding man in charge like Jos  Buttler. Under the rigid Irishman Eoin Morgan, Hales was an ‘untouchable’.

It was funny the other night in Sydney when Hales had starred in England’s win over Sri Lanka in their last Super 12 game. Morgan now a commentator was interviewing Hales and  the batsman rarely looked at his ex-captain. There was a bit of Marvan Atapattu in Hales. Marvan is the sweetest guy on the cricket field, friendly, accommodating and understanding, but if you ever cross his path even once, that’s the end of it.

Perhaps the comparison of Marvan is not all that fair. In his 20 year international career there  was rarely any blemish leave alone drugs. He was the ultimate gentleman cricketer, who played it so clean and nice and he expected others to do so too. When they didn’t, Marvan rarely forgave. He was a perfectionist and didn’t suffer fools gladly.

Hales’ case was different. He was a bit easy going. Too easy going at times and Morgan thought that he was a distraction to the team. Who can fault Morgan though for his team went onto win that 2019 World Cup. But with a change of guard and Buttler in charge there was room for Hales to comeback. What a comeback it has been.

England are in the World Cup final after a shaky start and they owe it big time to Hales. In this campaign he’s been the highest run getter for England having scored 211 runs in five innings. His average of 52 with a strike rate of 148 has done the job for England.

Hales hammered a half-century as England revived their campaign in the must win game against New Zealand  and then his 30 ball 47 against Sri Lanka set up their run chase on a slow surface where most batters struggled. Then he reserved the best for the semi-final where his unbeaten 86 in 47 balls saw India being massacred. They were handed a humiliating ten wicket defeat. There were seven sixes in his knock and given his ability to clear the boundary, Pakistan will be worried leading into the final. At 33, Hales has already missed  out on being in a World Cup winning team. Life has presented him a second chance on Sunday at MCG and he will be the cynosure of all eyes in England. Everybody deserves  a second chance in life. Lessons have been learnt and now Hales is moving on, at quite a speed too.