Mick Newell believes England can win the ICC World T20 and that Alex Hales has a key role to play in their quest for success.

The Nottinghamshire & England opener passed 50 in all five matches of the recent 50-over series against South Africa, capping a record-breaking series by finishing with a century.

And his county Director of Cricket sees no reason why the 27-year-old can’t take his sublime form into the short format competition.

“He had an outstanding series,” said Newell. “He’s taken a lot of belief from his international experience.

“He’s played a good amount of white ball cricket internationally now. He’s in England’s first XI. That’s a great feeling I’m sure.

“I hope he takes a huge amount of confidence from his achievements in 50-over cricket, and he has been an excellent T20 player for Notts and for England.

“If he plays well, added to Roy, Root, Buttler, Stokes and Morgan, you look at that as a top six in T20, crikey that’s a powerful and exciting six.

“Alex has a key role to play and he’ll want to be a leading figure in the tournament.”

The first of two T20 internationals against the Proteas takes place on Friday, where Newell believes winning is the best way to prepare for the challenges ahead.

“The pitches won’t be particularly similar you wouldn’t think, unless they play on used pitches, which they might,” he said.

“South Africa might feel it’s a good way to practice and say let’s play on the pitch we’ve just used for the ODI, to get more spin into the game.

“In terms of confidence and winning feeling it’s a big series. England and South Africa are in the same group, and it can’t do any harm to beat teams that you’re going to play again in a month’s time.

“I’m sure the coach and captain are fairly clear about what the 11 might be. Now it’s important to win. They will want to win these matches to build that confidence up.”

Although Newell admits that India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are likely to be front-runners in sub-continental conditions, he believes Eoin Morgan’s England can upset the odds.

“You have to try and look past them otherwise we might as well not bother going,” he said.

“We’ve led into this for eight or nine months and we hope we’ve got the players to do it.

“We’ve picked a squad with three spinners, but batting against spin will be the key because they’ll play T20 matches where you might find ten to 12 overs of spin bowled at you, which wouldn’t be traditional playing here or in other countries.

“Luck comes into it to some extent,” the 50-year-old continued. “T20 to me is often a game of very small margins; one ball, one dismissal, one catch, one piece of brilliance.

“England have a squad that’s specifically been selected with India in mind, so three spinners, which is something you might not have taken to a World Cup in Australia.

“The batting is very dominant, strong and progressive. If our bowling skills can be quickly sped up, because it is quite inexperienced, I think we’ve got every chance.”

 

England are returning to the scene of their Ashes triumph in 2016 for Royal London One-Day Internationals against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Don't miss the opportunity to watch some of the best players in the world go toe-to-toe in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge and secure your seats now.