England batsman Alex Hales will miss the rest of England’s one-day tour of India following hand injury
Opening batsman fractured his right hand after attempting a catch as he jarred his hand on the ground
ALEX HALES has been ruled out of the rest of England’s one-day tour of India with a hand injury.
The big-hitting opener, 28, fractured his right hand trying to take a catch during England’s decisive 15-run defeat in the second ODI at Cuttack.
And Hales looked downcast as he boarded the team’s flight to Kolkata with his arm in a sling.
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He flies back to the UK today, missing the three-match T20 series that follows the one-dayers.
Hales will see a hand surgeon next week but faces up to six weeks out.
In the one-day line-up, his shoes could be filled by Sam Billings.
The Kent man made 62 in the third one-dayer in Bangladesh in October – an innings that helped clinch the series.
Team-mate Chris Woakes said: “Halesy is a pretty destructive player and he’s been a key figure in our one-day side for a while. He’s broken records and is a fantastic player at the top of the order.
“But it does gives someone like Sam Billings — or Jonny Bairstow who has been sat waiting to play — a chance to have a crack at it."