World Twenty20: Alex Hales ‘buzzing’ after setting England record

Alex Hales admitted he was “absolutely buzzing” after becoming the first England player to hit a T20 century and seal a memorable win against Sri Lanka.

The 25-year-old smashed a brilliant 116 off 64 balls, including six sixes, and hit the winning runs to seal an incredible England turnaround in the World Twenty20 Group One clash in Chittagong.

Eoin Morgan made my job a hell of a lot easier by hitting those sixes in the middle of the innings

Alex Hales

“I’m absolutely buzzing, centuries in this format don’t come along very often and I’ve got out in the nineties a couple of times so this is brilliant,” Hales told BBC Sport.

England were guilty of a litany of fielding errors as Sri Lanka capitalised on a sloppy performance from their opponents to post a target of 189-4, with Mahela Jayawardene smashing 89 runs of 51 balls.

With Stuart Broad’s men needing to win to stay in the competition, England appeared to be heading for an early exit after falling to 0-2 in response to Sri Lanka’s tally.

However, Hales and Eoin Morgan (57) put on a partnership of 152 runs to steady England before the Nottinghamshire batsman and Ravi Bopara got their side over the line following the dismissal of Jos Buttler.

And England’s match-winner Hales credited Morgan for his role in their recovery.

“Eoin Morgan made my job a hell of a lot easier by hitting those sixes in the middle of the innings. [Is it the best you’ve ever played in this format?] Without a shadow of a doubt, yes,” Hales added.