Why Stupidity Of Hales Has Become So Painful For Taylor And England

Peter Hayter contrasts the ill-health that ended the career of England selector James Taylor with the self-destructive actions of Alex Hales

As James Taylor looked on with an increasing darker expression at the brainless England batting against Australia at Lord’s that left their World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, his discussions with fellow selector Ed Smith would have made interesting listening.

From time to time, indeed, when spied on Sky TV’s cameras, he made sure to keep his hand in front of his mouth and this, one could reasonably speculate, might well have been when the subject of Alex Hales cropped up.

For if any cricketer has a right to be irritated beyond exasperation at the crass stupidity that forced England to bin Hales on the eve of the competition, it is Taylor, who, had the careless hand of fate not swatted him into premature retirement at the age of 26 due to a serious heart condition, could have been out there himself this week fighting, as only he could fight, to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.

The contrast between the reasons for Taylor’s absence from the 2019 World Cup and Hales’s could not be starker.

In the case of the former, time has not dulled the edge of loss. In the case of the latter, sadness comes a distant second to raging incredulity.

Four years ago, in the previous World Cup tie between the two teams, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, while Aaron Finch did exactly what he did against England this week and scored a match-winning century, Taylor’s 98 not out from 90 deliveries was a rare beacon of defiance in a storm of England uselessness.