Nottinghamshire batsman Alex Hales has been included in the England squad for Wednesday’s Twenty20 international against India.
His 78 runs in the quarter-final of the Friends Life t20 cemented his standing as a leading exponent of the format with his competition record of 544 runs in 16 matches representing the best return by an English batsman.
Hales was ever-present as Notts Outlaws won the North Group and joins club mates Samit Patel, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad in the squad for the one off match at Old Trafford.
“The domestic twenty20 competition went well for me and I’m pleased to have been recognised for scoring runs in a winning team,” said Hales.
“England are the world’s best Test team and the twenty20 world champions so breaking into the setup at any level is a big deal and I’m extremely proud to have done so.
“I need to back my ability to play positively and score runs if I’m going to stay in contention for a place and that’s my target going into Wednesday’s game.”
National selector Geoff Miller has monitored Hales particularly closely this season.
England NatWest International Twenty20 squad
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) Captain
Ravi Bopara (Essex)
Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire)
Jos Buttler (Somerset)
Jade Dernbach (Surrey)
Steven Finn (Middlesex)
Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)
Craig Kieswetter (Somerset)
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)
Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
Kevin Pietersen (Surrey)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire)
England NatWest Series squad
Alastair Cook (Essex) Captain
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Ian Bell (Warwickshire)
Ravi Bopara (Essex)
Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Jade Dernbach (Surrey)
Steven Finn (Middlesex)
Craig Kieswetter (Somerset)
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)
Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire)
Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire)