The former opener has been in superb form in T20 leagues
Forgotten England opener Alex Hales has closed in on an incredible T20 record on Saturday as he became the third cricketer to cross 14,000 runs in the shortest format and is just 48 runs behind West Indies legend Chris Gayle’s all-time record of 14,562 runs.
Hales, who is not part of The Hundred 2025, on Saturday blasted 74 off 43 balls for Trinbago Knight Riders in the six-wicket win over Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2025.
In the process, Hales went past West Indies and Mumbai Indians legend Kieron Pollard who had recently gone past 14,000 runs in the CPL 2025.
Gayle, who had called time on his professional career three years ago, played a total of 465 T20s and scored 22 hundreds and 88 fifties at a stunning average of 36 and a strike rate of 144.
If Hales overtakes him in the next match, he will become the highest run-scorer in the T20s in 510 matches. Hales has seven hundreds and 89 fifties to his name.
| Player Name | Runs | Innings | Average | Strike Rate |
| Chris Gayle | 145672 | 455 | 36.22 | 144.75 |
| Alex Hales | 14024 | 505 | 30.02 | 145.44 |
| Kieron Pollard | 14012 | 634 | 31.7 | 150.87 |
| David Warner | 13595 | 423 | 36.44 | 140.25 |
| Shoaib Malik | 13571 | 515 | 35.99 | 127.24 |
| Virat Kohli | 13543 | 397 | 41.92 | 134.67 |
| Jos Buttler | 13338 | 440 | 35.75 | 145.89 |
| James Vince | 12564 | 439 | 31.96 | 135.76 |
| Rohit Sharma | 12243 | 450 | 30.85 | 135.21 |
| Faf du Plessis | 11906 | 402 | 32.88 | 137.07 |
Pollard is third in the list with 14,012 runs from 713 matches at a strike rate of 150 and an average of 31.
Former Australia and Sunrisers Hyderabad great David Warner is fourth highest run-scorer in the format with 13,595 runs from 424 matches including eight hundreds and 113 fifties.
Former Pakistan Shoaib Malik is the fifth highest run-scorer in T20s with 13,571 runs with a strike rate of 127, average of 35. Malik has fifties to his name.
Hales, who was banned by the ECB in 2019 after testing positive for a banned substance, was kept out of the national team reckoning for three years which prompted him to become a T20 globetrotter.
However, his performances got him another chance for England in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia which proved to be a masterstroke by skipper Jos Buttler.
Hales blasted 212 runs from six innings at a strike rate of 147 as England went on to lift the title for the second time. It was also the last time Hales played T20Is.
