Hales hails warm-up win

Having seen off old rivals Australia in their pre-World Cup encounter, England opener Alex Hales believes his side are well placed to begin the defence of their Twenty20 title.

England managed to secure a nine-run victory over the Aussies in Colombo in a result that undoubtedly affected T20 World Cup odds markets, which has now become commonplace for captain Stuart Broad and his men, having beaten Australia in their previous four meetings this year.

There were a number of decent performances, including the skipper who looked a major threat with the ball, which will be a positive sign for head coach Andy Flower.

However with the bat it was Hales who really shone, as his 52 runs from just 38 balls set the tone for England in their innings.

That platform will be crucial in the bigger games to come for England in Sri Lanka, with the side set to take on minnows Afghanistan before facing one of the competition’s favourites India in the group stages.

The Nottinghamshire batsman will really be able to make a name for himself in this upcoming tournament if he can get some serious runs on the scoreboard, which will mean the loss of Kevin Pietersen before the tournament will soon be forgotten.

However Hales will not be thinking that far ahead and he was pleased with the performance against Australia and believes it bodes well for the World Cup to come, as England look upset the latest cricket odds and clinch glory.

He said: “It’s a great way to start the warm-up to this tournament, and we also had that good win against South Africa too.

“So we’re feeling pretty confident heading into this tournament.

“It adds to the confidence in the changing room, which is already pretty good.”

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