Dubai, UAE (August 28, 2023) –The highest run scorer in season one of the DP World ILT20, Alex Hales was in Dubai for a short visit last week and said he was thrilled with the new additions to the Desert Vipers squad, believing the line-up looked even stronger for the tournament’s next edition in January 2024.
Alex Hales said: “I believe so (the Desert Vipers squad looks stronger this year) and that takes some doing because I thought we had an unbelievable squad last year. I think we have kept some key players and (have) recruited extremely well, so I think the players, coaches, and fans can get really excited for this season.”
The signing of star Pakistan left-arm strike bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi for the Desert Vipers has grabbed headlines. Alex Hales has had previous experience facing Afridi in both the international and franchise arenas, as well as playing alongside him for Nottinghamshire in this year’s T20 Blast in the UK, and he said he knows just how much of a threat the fast bowler is to any opposition.
Speaking about the signing, Hales said: “You could put the case forward that he is probably the best seam bowler in the world at the moment. Certainly, the best new-ball bowler. (Shaheen) swings it with extreme pace from a six-foot-six (inches) frame, left-arm around the wicket, and it is a right-hander’s nightmare. I am just lucky that he is on our team this year.”
Hales added: “I have had some good jousts with him in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and in international cricket and he is one of the finest operators. I think it is an unbelievable recruitment for us, especially with the swinging conditions we will probably have in the UAE.”
Hales is equally excited about the two other Pakistan signings, all-rounder Shadab Khan and wicket-keeper batter Azam Khan, and believes the fact that the Desert Vipers are the only franchise to recruit Pakistan players gives them the edge over the other teams.
Hales said: “With the three we have signed it definitely gives us the advantage. Three of the best T20 players in the world right now are already added to the ranks of what we had last year, where we reached the final, and I think it looks like a really dangerous squad.”
Speaking about Shadab Khan, Hales added: “I think he is a complete cricketer. He is excellent in the field, he is also a good leg-spinner, with a lot of mystery to his leg-spin, and can also whack sixes in the middle to lower order, (and) sometimes in the top order in the PSL. So, (he is) a wonderful utility player and one of the best all-rounders in the world so, yes, that is a top-class recruit and I am sure he will shine for us.”
Hales has had previous experience playing with Azam Khan in the PSL and is a huge fan of the wicket-keeper batter: “He is one of the best hitters of a cricket ball I have seen. The bat looks so small in his hands, he is just a big strong unit, and he can hit it for a mile. (Azam Khan) plays spin and seam very well, and obviously is a wicketkeeper as well. I played with him in the latest edition of the PSL and he was so good. Another dangerous player in the middle order.”
Here is what Alex Hales had to say about the other three new Desert Vipers recruits announced last week:
On Adam Hose: “I have played against him a handful of times and he seems to score runs, I think he got a hundred against us at Trent Bridge, maybe last year, and he just hit it to all parts. He is a very dangerous player, and he can score all around the wicket and he is very good in the field as well. So, another good middle-order signing.”
On Bas de Leede: “A good young talent and an all-rounder and in T20 they are gold dust. Someone who can bowl good pace, good change-ups, and also whack it, in the middle to lower order. I think he is a very dangerous cricketer and again another top-notch signing.”
On Michael Jones: “Definitely (a player on his way up). That is what you want when you are building franchises, young guys where the sky is the limit. He had a great season this year and I am sure we will see even more of that form this winter.”
With a busy playing schedule ahead of him, Alex Hales said he was excited at the prospect of returning to the UAE for the DP World ILT20 and said: “I love coming to the UAE and I loved playing for the Vipers. The tournament was a big success, and we had a successful campaign. Obviously, we would have liked to win one more, but I am really happy with how it went, and it is getting me excited about coming back here in January.”
While Alex Hales was the top run-scorer in the tournament (ILT20) with 469 runs across 12 innings, he found the going harder as the tournament progressed. However, he said he was philosophical about that dip in form. “This is T20 cricket,” said Hales. “As an opener, you are expected to go out there and take the game on. It is often the best time to bat in the first six overs, but sometimes the ball can swing, and seam and you can have one with your name on it.
“I think the pitches were definitely better at the start of the tournament, so I cashed in then, I think, but now I have a bit more experience about how the pitches will behave in the backend, and that will hold me in good stead next year when it comes to consistency.”
As for Hales’ key learning from season one, the tall right-hander was clear about that: “I had not had a huge amount of experience in the UAE before this tournament,” he said. “Just a handful of international games and one or two in the PSL.
“It was kind of unchartered territory for me, but the ball swung and seemed a fair bit so as an opener you can maybe give yourself a little more time than you would in different comps (competitions), and just to get used to the swing and cash in a little later on in the innings. So that is something I will look to a bit more in the next season and just be a bit more weary in the first 10-20 deliveries.”
The second edition of the ILT20 is scheduled to start in January 2024.
The Desert Vipers finished as runners-up in the inaugural edition of the tournament in January and February 2023.
Among the players the Desert Vipers have retained from that first edition are English opening batter Alex Hales, who scored the competition’s first-ever individual hundred and finished as its leading run-scorer, and Wanindu Hasaranga, the Sri Lanka wrist-spinner, the top wicket-taker in the past two editions of the ICC T20 World Cup.
