Alex Hales: Ashley Giles denies ECB cover-up after World Cup axing
Giles: "If the story hadn't broken, absolutely Alex would probably still be here. Everyone of us can argue whether that is right or wrong"
Monday 6 May 2019 09:28, UK
Ashley Giles has admitted that Alex Hales would still be a part of England's ICC Cricket World Cup squad if news of his 21-day ban for using recreational drugs had not broken, but has denied there was any ECB cover-up of the issue.
Only Giles, managing director of the England men's cricket team, and Tom Harrison, ECB chief executive, knew of Hales' off-the-field indiscretion, but says they were bound by a "duty of confidentiality" to the player.
However, once the news broke on Friday, Giles said "the world changed" and potential disruption to the team environment led them to the decision to deselect Hales from the squad.
"I think we managed the situation as well as we possibly could have," Giles told Sky Sports. "Others will disagree but myself and Tom are still bound by a duty of confidentiality to the player. That's something we take very seriously.
"When we picked the World Cup preliminary squad, were the selectors aware? Was the captain aware? Was the coach aware? No, they weren't, because we had that duty of confidentiality.
"To think at any stage we deceived, we lied, brushed under the carpet, is just silly. We were doing what we had to do.
"What I want to make clear is the off-the-field incident wasn't the reason Alex was deselected from this team. The story broke on Friday, and once that story broke, in many aspects, the world changed.
"I can certainly say there's an element of trust that has been lost in this process."
"The affect of that story breaking on everyone, the environment, the team, has led us to the point we are now.
"If the story hadn't broken, absolutely Alex would probably still be here. Everyone of us can argue whether that is right or wrong."
Following his axing from the squad, Hales' management company said it was "hugely disappointed" with the decision, claiming the ECB had reneged on assurances his World Cup place was not under threat.
Giles clarified his stance on the matter, and was also keen to point out that this was not the end of Hales' international career.
"Our integrity is really important to us. Anyone who knows myself or Tom would understand that," added Giles. "We've done everything by the letter of the law. Unfortunately something has broken from elsewhere.
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"Clearly there was an off-the-field incident. That couldn't come into selection. That was the assurance we gave to Alex.
"However, the environment is really important to us. There has been a lot of work done on culture and values in the dressing room by both Eoin Morgan and Joe Root. It is imperative we live by those values going forward.
"I don't want to comment on what goes on inside the dressing room. That's not right. But I can certainly say there's an element of trust that has been lost in this process.
"That does not mean it's the end of the road. Alex has been a fantastic player for England for a long period of time; the door is still open. Look around the corner, we have two T20 World Cups coming up.
"We'd just like to see a consistency of doing the right things, good behaviours and getting some runs.
"And the primary responsibility of us [the ECB], Notts and the PCA at the moment is to get round Alex and support him, to make sure that player welfare is paramount. Which it is."
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