Hales pumped for ‘biggest occasion’

England opener Alex Hales says that the World Twenty20 final against the West Indies will be his biggest challenge to date, and that he hopes for a match-winning innings to cap off the tournament.

Hales has been overshadowed by opening partner Jason Roy, who has scored a string of high scores, while Hales has a top knock of 28 in the tournament. But he does have a century in the format, England's first, and hopes to shine against the Windies.

Hales said on the Nottinghamshire CCC website: "It’s the biggest occasion so far in my career. Any World Cup Final is a massive occasion in a player’s career.

"Potentially it could be the only chance you get. As a squad we're going to give it a good crack as we have done all tournament.

"For me personally, I've had a couple of starts and decent partnerships with Jason (Roy) to get us off and running.

"That can sometimes be the way in T20 cricket, it can be a tough game in which to contribute with big scores game in game out, it’s maybe one game in four or five.

"I've played four now in this World Cup, so hopefully that match-winning knock can come in the final."

As for the team, England last won this title in 2010, and Hales feels that the current group have a big chance of doing the same, given they bonded strongly over the past year's ups and downs.

He added: "The group we've got have come through the age groups together and we've been together as a squad since the embarrassment of last year’s 50-over World Cup.

"It’s a new bunch of guys with loads of talent and with no baggage from the past and we enjoy each other’s success.

"The two venues we have played at have helped. Mumbai is a very batter friendly wicket with loads of runs in it, and in Delhi we were lucky to play three games in a row when New Zealand hadn't played there ahead of the semi-final.

"We've had stuff go our way, but that doesn't change the fact that we've played some brilliant cricket and entertained the world with what we have done."

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