Alex Hales has lost his place in the England squad after a recreational drug use ban. A collection of ‘senior’ players met and decided that his actions were a flagrant disregard of the values of the team. Captain Eoin Morgan was said to be ‘fuming’ over the incident, and the feelings of the senior players were communicated to management and Hales was removed as a result.
I don’t necessarily have a problem with Hales’s removal from the squad. I don’t have a problem with players making their feelings known. I do, however, have a problem with this growing trend of ‘senior leadership’ deciding the fate of a player outside of the usual disciplinary channels. A coterie of players drove the murky goings-on in Australian cricket, and it appears that England has a similar group who have taken on the role of unofficial judicial system. Hales was already subjected to disciplinary action with his ban.
Morgan seemed to be particularly aggrieved by Hales’s unwise decision to partake in recreational drugs. The England captain’s justification has been around the change in culture within the England setup since the Ben Stokes incident in September 2017. Undoubtedly, a change was required with England cricket vicariously dragged through the law courts with Stokes charged with affray. Readers will remember that Hales was also party to that incident in Bristol and it’s ironic that he should fall foul of any resultant affirmative action. On the subject of irony, Stokes was one of those senior players deciding on Hales. The others were Jos Buttler, Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes.
‘We all agreed the best decision for the team was for Alex to be deselected’ was Morgan’s pronouncement of the clandestine meeting. The decision of the meeting was communicated to the Ashley Giles, the director of England cricket before England’s management ratified it. For me, it feels too shadowy to be an acceptable practice. I am not ignoring the potential effects on the team, but Hales was not given a chance to state his case. Andrew Flintoff pointed out the lack of context around Hales and his drug taking, ‘Rather than a cricketer, we’re talking about a lad here. I think that’s got to be addressed – where he is as a person as opposed to where he is as a cricketer.’
There are two issues around the senior players and their decision that are particularly worrying. Firstly, Hales was not given an opportunity to state his case and provide some background details as to why the drugs were taken. Secondly, players becoming ‘judge and jury’ seems a dangerous precedent for the ECB. It could be argued that, in a normal workplace, this could be perceived as bullying and that due process had not been followed.
With their current form, England must feel that this Cricket World Cup is their best chance to win and a distraction such as this could derail the challenge. Furthermore, England has a wealth of white ball talent at their disposal, and the loss of Hales for the greater good will feel justified. Looking at the first two games of the Pakistan ODI series, it is clear that England has a phenomenal batting line up which is interchangeable without losing efficacy. The omission of Hales will not hinder England this summer. I don’t see how England would have been hindered had Hales stayed around the squad either. If the misdemeanour had been just an error of judgement, then the ban and a warning about future conduct would have been enough. However, Morgan talked about a breakdown of ‘trust’ between the players and Hales, and that was the justification.
The 21-day ban indicates that this is the second offence, of this type, by Hales. On the face of it, this is disappointing as well as naïve. Knowing that such tests can detect drug use for a significant amount of time after the event, Hales has not helped his cause. There has been no context given for his conduct, but he does recognise his errors and Nottinghamshire has stood by their player. In a statement, they felt that it was important for Hales to get back on the pitch. It also addressed how the player felt. ‘Alex has expressed a great deal of regret and contrition for his actions, and he has ultimately paid a heavy price.’
With the morality bar set high, England’s senior leadership players are steering the rudder to chart a course to Cricket World Cup and Ashes glory. Captain Morgan and his crew are looking for plain sailing this summer. It’ll be interesting to see if any other players will have to walk the plank should they encounter any choppier waters. Whether Alex Hales will be able to escape the desert island that he has been cast adrift on will take a while to play out.
Jonathan