England One-Day captain Eoin Morgan hopes Nottinghamshire batsman Alex Hales can still play in this winter’s Ashes.

The explosive 28-year-old right-hander has lined up a spell playing T20 cricket this winter for Stellenbosch Kings in the South African Global League, which starts on November 3.

But he has also been tipped to be picked in Joe Root’s England squad to play for cricket’s best-known prize down under after a stellar summer that has included a run-a-ball knock of 218 in red ball cricket against Derbyshire.

Asked after England’s abandoned second One-Day International against the West Indies at Trent Bridge if he would prefer Hales and Lancashire’s Jos Buttler to concentrate on white ball cricket or continue to stay involved in all formats, Morgan said: “I would like to see them play in an Ashes series.”

“Ashes and World Cups are the pinnacles of our careers, so to see guys playing in that and doing well would boost their confidence massively.

“They both have a huge amount of ability in all three formats of the game and, if an Ashes opportunity presents itself as opposed to a T20 franchise league, then I would say go with the Ashes series.

“I think if I was in Alex’s position, I would just do as much as he can and see if I was selected.

“I think it’s nice that he has an alternative, so it’s not the be all and end all and takes a weight off his shoulders.”

Hales scored an England ODI-record 171 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge last year, but reached only 10 not out before rain intervened yesterday.

However, the Middlesex man has seen enough over the course of the summer to insist that the Hillingdon-born player is maturing quickly.

Morgan said: “Certainly with the form he has shown this summer, he has got to be one of the most in-form batsmen in county cricket at the moment.

“He’s a massive part of our (one-day) side. He has grown as a person and as a player.

“When you get dropped from any team there are a lot of questions you ask of yourself and a lot of questions you get asked from people outside of your bubble.

“Coming back from that shows huge character. To come back and show the form that he has is incredible.”

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