For excluded Hales and Porter, the message is clear

by Rob Johnston • Last updated on Sat, May 30, 2020, 08:05 AM

Hales' exile from England's squad continues because of "trust" issues. © Getty

For Alex Hales and Jamie Porter, the two most glaring omissions from England's 55-man training squad announced on Friday (May 29), the message could not have been clearer. After all, being left out of a squad of 15 is one thing. But being omitted from an expanded party of 55, where anyone who is anyone has seemingly found a spot? That's about as unambiguous a statement as it gets.

Of course, there is always conjecture about selection and everyone has an opinion. While it's easy to look at individuals in isolation, such as Porter's 199 first-class wickets in the past three seasons or Hales' world class performances in T20 cricket, the selectors have to consider a range of other factors. They have to consider the balance of the squad, the culture and dynamics of those assembled, the opposition and conditions, form and fitness. Things are rarely clear cut.

The ECB have also been very keen to point out that the 55 strong group is not an official England squad. Instead, they say it's merely a number of players they have invited to resume training ahead of a summer that at some point might involve some international fixtures. That would suggest that nothing too much should be read into the various inclusions and exclusions. But the ECB's stance is confusing and confused.

Make no mistake, this is an England squad alright. A larger one than normal, to be sure, but an England squad nonetheless. These are the 55 players England will pick from this summer. More than that, given it includes 14 uncapped players and a large number of recent Lions tourists, this is a group the selectors see taking English cricket forward longer term. What hope, then, is there for those who didn't make the cut? The message would seem to be that England aren't interested now and won't be in the future, unless something drastic changes. And while plenty of players were not selected in the 55-man group announced yesterday, the exclusions of Hales and Porter seem particularly harsh.

By Eoin Morgan's own admission, Hales' quality as a batsman is not in doubt. He is a world class performer against a white-ball and he scored heavily and quickly in the Mzansi Super League, the Big Bash and Pakistan Super League this winter. Despite the batting riches England have in limited overs, Hales would clearly add depth and strength to England's ODI and T20 squads, even if he would do well to displace the likes of Jos Buttler, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow from the first choice elevens.

Instead, Hales' exile from England's squad continues because of "trust" issues. That breakdown of trust stems from Hales being dropped on the eve of last summer's World Cup after failing a second test for recreational drugs. That was the right decision then and Morgan, understandably, felt badly let down. The manner of how England's captain found out, through the media, can hardly have helped matters.

But the noise from the ECB is that they have been pleased with what they have seen from Hales. He has acknowledged his mistake and vowed to do better. There have been no issues since. And yet, twelve months on, Morgan still believes more time is required for that trust to be rebuilt. "I've spoken to Alex and see an avenue for him to come back but when there's a breakdown of trust the only healer is time,' Morgan said earlier this week.

"It's only been 12 or 13 months since the incident which could have cost us four years hard work so I think we will continue to assess things moving forward. It's about on and off the field and the values we do our best to adhere to. Alex showed a complete disregard for those values and he needs to build trust up now for as long as he can. Then hopefully an opportunity will present itself along the line."

How Hales is supposed to build up that trust again from outside the changing room is anyone's guess. What practical steps does he have to go through? He doesn't appear to have been given any apart from the vague notion that more time is needed. How long is long enough? Two years? Three? More?

Some may argue the situation Hales finds himself in is of his own making. In some quarters, there will be little sympathy for his plight. But Hales missed out on winning a World Cup on home soil. He has missed out of 12 months of international cricket at a time when he is playing some of the best cricket of his life. Of his own doing, perhaps, but no less significant punishment for that. Piling on yet more seems excessive. Morgan has proved himself one of England's best ever captains and his judgement has rarely been proved wrong. In this instance, however, Hales has surely done his time.

Porter can also feel hard done by. Two years ago, he was called up to England's Test squad during the home series against India and told he was the heir apparent to James Anderson. But following his non-selection for the Lions tour last winter and now this omission, he looks about as far away from international recognition as he ever has. There is a growing feeling that the selectors have gone off him all of a sudden and that others, such as Sussex's Ollie Robinson, have overtaken Porter in the pecking order.

A hatful of Division One Championship wickets over the past three seasons, helping Essex to two four-day titles in the process, would suggest Porter remains a highly effective bowler. By his own standards, last term was slightly down on previous seasons but he still took 48 Championship wickets at 25. Those who have faced him laud his skill and his ability to make things happen on all types of surface. Bowling in the 80 to 85mph zone is sometimes offered up as a reason why he couldn't be successful at international level but then Robinson bowls slower. James Anderson hasn't done badly at that pace either.

Given Chris Silverwood, England's head coach, worked extensively with Porter at Essex it is a surprise he has been discarded. Indeed, Porter's 75 wickets at 16.82 were a key reason why the county won the Championship under Silverwood's leadership in 2017 and the right-armer's returns have remained strong since then. If Smith and Bobat have gone off him, it's unclear why. It is understood that the 27 year-old may look to play some first-class cricket overseas this winter - perhaps in New Zealand or Sri Lanka - in a bid to prove his credentials away from England. He can hardly do any more at home.

There are always plenty of hard luck stories when it comes to selection, of course. Each of Sam Northeast, Joe Clarke and Tom Abell had decent claims to be part of an expanded group too but were also left disappointed yesterday. As with Hales and Porter, their exclusion sends a clear message. They aren't in England's immediate plans. They might not even be in their medium to long term plans. No doubt that will be a tough message for all of those left out to swallow. But for Hales and Porter, two high-class cricketers at the peak of their powers, it is an even tougher blow to take.

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For excluded Hales and Porter, the message is clear

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