England batsman Alex Hales confident on his progression
Wednesday 10 August 2016 08:42, UK
England's Alex Hales believes he has progressed as an international batsman despite a frustrating wait for a maiden Test hundred.
The 27-year-old Nottinghamshire opener's 10 Tests have yielded five fifties, with a best of 94 against Sri Lanka at Lord's in May.
But Hales played an important part in England's come-from-behind 141-run win over Pakistan at Edgbaston last week as the hosts went 2-1 up in the four-match series ahead of Thursday's concluding Test at The Oval.
Hales made 54 in a second innings where he and England captain Alastair Cook (66) erased a first-innings deficit of 103 runs with their maiden century stand as a Test match opening pair.
"The stats said that with a hundred-run deficit you only win three percent of the time," Hales said.
"So for us to bounce back the way we did when we had our backs to the wall said a lot about our character and it could also deflate them (Pakistan)."
He added: "We can't afford to get complacent.
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"We have to show the same amount of hunger and desire here that we showed at Old Trafford (where England levelled the series with a 330-run win) and Edgbaston."
Reflecting on his latest Test fifty, Hales said: "I'm satisfied but disappointed not to go on the morning after.
"The period me and Cooky batted at the end of day three was pivotal in setting the game up and if we'd lost one or two wickets that session they (Pakistan) would have gone into the fourth day with their tails up. It was a key period in the game.
"On a personal level, the runs haven't come as I would have liked so far having got a couple of good balls and played a couple of rash shots, so I made a few adjustments to my technique against the left-armers and still feel I'm heading in the right direction.
"Obviously this series hasn't quite gone to plan but I've shown people what I can do and this Test is a really important one for me."
Hales, who made his name in international cricket as a dynamic limited-overs batsman, said playing the situation had been one of the biggest challenges of his Test career.
"Something I've learnt is not to go out and bat with any pre-conceived ideas. I don't want to be a guy who is known for blocking it nor hits it to all parts," he said.
"If they (the opposition) bowl well I want to be good enough to see it off and if they bowl poorly still have the intention to hit the bad balls - just play the situation."
