England’s opener batsman Alex Hales has taken an indefinite break from cricket for his personal reasons. Hales, who is in England’s 15-members provisional squad for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup. On Friday, he missed Nottinghamshire's 50-over 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,” the county side stated on their website.  He has played in 70 ODIs for England, hitting six hundred in the format. Last year, he scored 147 at Trent Bridge against Australia, helping England to a record-breaking ODI total of 481/6.

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Alex Hales smashed the highest ever score by an Englishman in ODIs. He hit a mammoth 171 from 122 deliveries at his usual stomping ground, Trent Bridge, against Pakistan on August 30, 2016. Jos Buttler also hit the fastest ever England fifty (22 balls) and England notched their highest ever ODI score (444).

England’s World Cup campaign is set to commence on 30 May when they take on South Africa. Prior to that, they will face off against Ireland in a one-off ODI, before taking on Pakistan in one T20I and five ODIs. Alongside his selection for the World Cup, Hales has been named in England's squads for those matches.

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