Another England player to skip domestic season for franchise leagues

England’s experienced top-order batter Alex Hales is set to skip this year’s T20 Blast and The Hundred to prioritise his deal with Knight Riders franchise for the Major League Cricket (MLC) and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Hales, who retired from international cricket in 2023, has been a regular part of the franchise leagues all over the world and recently became the second-highest run-scorer in T20s earlier this month.

The right-handed batter has been associated with Nottinghamshire since 2008 but recently moved to Dubai and decided against renewing his contract.

Hales, as a result, will not be available for Nottinghamshire in the T20 Blast and Trent Rockets in The Hundred, with whom he won both titles.

The 36-year-old, however, did not rule out a future return.

"The last 17 years playing at Trent Bridge for Notts have been an absolute pleasure, and it remains my favourite place in the world to play cricket," Hales said in a statement.

"Some of my best memories have come in a Notts shirt, and some of my closest friendships in the game have been made in that home dressing room.

"Having spent more and more time playing around the world in recent years, heading back to Trent Bridge has always been something I've looked forward to. But given the current landscape of the global game as well as having recently moved abroad, unfortunately I won't be able to return this season… Hopefully I will be able to return at some point in the future."

For the unversed, Alex Hales is the third English player to skip the domestic season to prioritise franchise leagues, joining James Vince and Jason Roy, who terminated their contracts to feature in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and the MLC.