England have privately maintained that the decision to remove Alex Hales from their World Cup squad was endorsed by Eoin Morgan, Trevor Bayliss and a core of senior players.

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Hales linked up with the squad in Cardiff on Saturday evening after news of his 21-day ban for a second recreational drug violation had broken the day before, providing an opportunity to garner support from teammates on the first day of their training camp.

But when Ashley Giles, the director of England cricket, later asked senior players and staff whether Hales could yet be retained in a squad that is looking to win a first global 50-over trophy this summer, it is claimed no favourable views were forthcoming.

Realistically only Morgan, the all-powerful captain who has led England to No 1 in the rankings, could have stepped in to save Hales. Bayliss, the head coach, is known to have distrusted the player ever since his involvement in the 2017 Bristol incident with Ben Stokes and viewed this latest transgression as the final straw.

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From there Giles, in conjunction with the national selector, Ed Smith, resolved to drop Hales, hopeful it will minimise the damage to the team’s month-long World Cup build-up that begins with Friday’s one-off ODI against Ireland in Malahide. Hales, who left the squad on Monday morning after being informed of the call, missed a presentation given to the squad by Gareth Southgate later that day in which the England football manager spoke about dealing with tournament pressure.

The 30-year-old could well return to action for Nottinghamshire on Friday in their Royal London Cup game against Durham at Grantham following the completion of his ban. The Outlaws have won five from five but Ben Duckett’s call-up by England in place of Hales has opened up a spot in the top three. Peter Moores, Nottinghamshire’s highly respected head coach, must first assess whether Hales is mentally ready to return to the middle after reportedly being left “devastated” by events. His white-ball contract at the club expires at the end of the season and, given the stress caused by his actions, strong returns are probably needed before any talks over a new deal.

Leadership failure at ECB leaves Alex Hales and England in a mess | Andy Bull Read more

Both Giles and Tom Harrison, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, have faced criticism over their handling of the Hales situation, not least the fact that they knew of his ban before the preliminary 15-man World Cup squad was selected on 17 April.

The pair told Morgan, Smith and Bayliss they were unable to share knowledge of the transgression with them for fear of legal reprisal under the recreational drugs policy’s confidentiality clauses for second offences. The ECB is now expected to approach the Professional Cricketers’ Association for discussions over amending the policy to prevent a repeat of the situation.

On Tuesday a line on the ECB website that stated such second recreational drug violations leave a player “liable to sanction and public disclosure” was tweaked to remove the phrase “and public disclosure”. The ECB claims it was a previously unnoticed error.