Out of favour England batsman Alex Hales has been re-signed by Sydney Thunder ahead of the upcoming 11th edition of the Big Bash League (BBL).  Hales has been in prolific form, amassing 576 and 543 runs in the last two seasons respectively, including a 110 in the 2020-21 campaign where Thunder were eliminated in the playoffs."The culture at Sydney Thunder, both on and off the field, is something special and I am excited to have the opportunity to be a part of it again," Hales said. "Over the last two seasons I have seen first-hand how this franchise is putting together a squad who believes they can win the BBL and that's the case this summer more than ever." 

Hales has not played for England since March 2019 after he was chucked out of the team when it emerged that he had served a ban for recreational drugs use a second time. While the opening batsman played a central role in England's resurgence after the 2015 World Cup, he ended up missing out on the 2019 World Cup, which the team went on to win. Hales was dropped from all formats of the England squad before World Cup 2019. . Since then, England’s limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan has made his stand clear. Morgan has said that there is a chance for Hales to make a comeback in the squad but time will be a big factor as the skipper has trust issues with the 32-year-old. Hales made his last international appearance in March 2019 on England’s tour of West Indies. Since then, he has been playing domestic cricket and franchise cricket.