Alex Hales using World Cup disappointment to become 'better person and cricketer'

Alex Hales says he is using the disappointment of missing England's World Cup win to try and make himself a "better person and cricketer".

The Nottinghamshire opener had been a mainstay of the England white-ball set-up in the four years leading up to last year's tournament but was dropped from the squad after reportedly failing a drugs test and has not played for his country since.

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Eoin Morgan reiterated earlier this year that there had been a "breakdown in trust" between Hales and his international team-mates and suggested it would take more time to overcome that.

However, with two T20 World Cups scheduled in the next two years, Hales has not given up hope of getting back into the England squad and the events of last summer are acting as motivation.

"You want to use missing such a huge moment in this country's cricketing history to spur you on to make sure you get back into that set-up," he told Sky Sports.

"I'm trying to use it both ways, trying not to dwell on it but also using it to make myself a better person and cricketer."

Despite the significant blow of losing his international place indefinitely, Hales responded well on the field and enjoyed a fruitful winter with Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash and Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League.

The 31-year-old batsman believes he was playing "the best cricket of my life" prior to the coronavirus outbreak and now wants to rediscover that form before talking to England about his prospect of returning to the international fold.

"I'm hoping to sit down with them in the next couple of months," he said. "There's been a small amount of dialogue, but nothing set out in stone.

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"But at the moment I just want to enjoy my cricket with Notts and if I can repeat the winter I had last year then hopefully it gives me a chance and we'll see what happens in the next few months."

On the issue of regaining the trust of his former England team-mates, Hales admitted he was unsure how do go about it when he was outside of the group.

"It's a very good question and I'm not entirely sure," he said. "[Eoin Morgan] said about there being a certain amount of time needed, which is understandable, but it's coming up to two years now which is a very long time in a professional sportsman's career.

"So hopefully there is a chance that it can happen. And it is going to come through sitting down with those guys and keep performing well."