Why did Hales and Stokes fall out? Are Stokes and Hales still friends?

Alexander Daniel Hales is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed opening batter who currently plays for Nottinghamshire and the England cricket team in a white ball, limited-overs formats.

He made his One Day International debut against India in August 2014 and his Test cricket debut against South Africa in December 2015. Hales is the first English batter to score a T20I century. He is also the first batter to be dismissed for 99 in an ODI and a T20I.

On 29 April 2019, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that Hales had been dropped from England’s preliminary World Cup squad and all England squads ahead of the international season.

Hales was not called up for England for the rest of England captain Eoin Morgan’s tenure, with Morgan stating that Hales had lost the trust of the team.

In September 2022, Hales was called back to the English T20 squad for the T20 World Cup, as a late replacement for the injured Jonny Bairstow.

Why did Hales and Stokes fall out?

Ben Stokes held crunch talks with Alex Hales on his arrival in Australia before England felt able to press ahead with their World Cup planning and include both in their squad.

It has emerged that the pair, who fell out over the incident in Bristol that involved both but saw only Stokes go to court, met with captain Jos Buttler as soon as the England squad that arrived in Perth from Pakistan had been joined by the Test skipper.

Only then could England move on and concentrate on a campaign they hope will end next month with them uniting the 50-over and Twenty20 World Cup titles.

Are Stokes and Hales still friends?

Stokes and Hales used to be close friends but their friendship disintegrated after the late-night brawl in Bristol five years ago, which ended with Stokes being arrested on suspicion of affray, an offence of which he was later found not guilty.

Hales initially claimed he had not witnessed the incident, and went off to play golf the morning after Stokes’ arrest without telling anyone what had happened.

When asked about Hales’ recall last month, Stokes simply said: “I think at the end of the day, everyone’s goal is to win that World Cup for England. My goal, Alex’s goal and everyone else who’s part of that squad’s goal are to win that World Cup.”

And white ball coach Matthew Mott insisted the pair do not need to be “best mates” in order to help England win the World Cup. However, Stokes and Hales met with captain Jos Buttler for talks after reuniting in Australia.