Hales promises to stay true to himself

There is a story - perhaps apocryphal - that might be used to illustrate Alex Hales' easygoing attitude towards cricket.

Upon signing for Worcestershire on loan in May last year, it is said he turned up to play with no kit other than a pair of boots in a bag. The suggestion is that Hales, rich in talent, was happy to coast along enjoying his cricket and enjoying the lifestyle that went with it. It is an image of him that has persisted.

But it is not entirely accurate. While Hales may time the ball with an elegance that suggests little effort, it masks a desire to succeed that has obliged him to take some tricky decisions over the last few years.

By 2013, he was already established as a key figure in England's T20 side. While he had not, by then, become the first England player to make a century in the format (that was not to come until 2014), he had made 99 against West Indies in 2012 and could be reasonably confident in a future in the T20 leagues around the world.

But he was not satisfied with that. Instead, he resolved to improve his technique and develop into a player capable of flourishing in all formats of the game.

It was a decision that, for a while, appeared to have been counterproductive. Attempting to tighten up his technique, he lost his naturally attacking flair and, for a while, his place in the Nottinghamshire side.

Now, though, he has developed into a positive opening batsman with an ability to see off the new ball. And, barring injury, it seems all but certain that, in a month's time, he will make his Test debut against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.

"When I first came on the scene, I tried to play every shot in the book," Hales explains now. "Then I had this theory that the England selectors didn't want players like that at the top of the order so I went into my shell a bit and lost my form at the start of 2013."

That loss of form was so severe that he averaged just 13.94 in the 2013 first-class season. He found himself in the second XI for a while and was sent out on loan to Worcestershire at the start of the next season. But the seeds of his improvement had been sown.

"I spent the winter thinking about what my strengths were and working out that I just needed to give myself a chance and then my natural game could take over," he says.

"In the past, I stayed a bit leg side of the ball which left me playing away from my body outside off stump and a bit vulnerable to the ball that nips back. So I've tried to move across to the leg side more and play with my head nearer the ball.

"I've still got to stay true to the naturally positive way I play. But you could see in the way the guys played this summer - their 'no fear' attitude - that it's the approach they want these days. It's just now I give myself more of a chance to play that way by getting myself in first."

While it would be an exaggeration to claim he has enjoyed a prolific season, at a time when few top-order batsmen are flourishing in county cricket, he is averaging in excess of 50 and has registered two of his three centuries against arguably the best attacks on the circuit: 236 against Yorkshire and 189 against Warwickshire.

He did not flourish in the ODI series - "I felt fine, I just kept hitting balls to fielders. It happens" - but looks certain to play in the UAE. The Test squad contains only two regular opening batsmen - Moeen Ali has opened in limited-overs cricket, but never for Worcestershire in the first-class game while Zafar Ansari has only just started opening the innings for Surrey and may now be in doubt for the tour after sustaining a thumb injury - and Hales should know that, while Sam Robson and Adam Lyth have struggled to make the step-up in quality required, they have at least been given a sustained opportunity to make their case. It will be a surprise if Hales does not open in all seven Tests over the winter.

His Nottinghamshire team-mate, James Taylor, will also be going on his first Test tour. But while Hales is benefiting, in part at least, from some technical changes he introduced into his game, Taylor is benefiting more from a refusal to change a technique that may be unusual but in which he believes and which has brought him results in all formats of the game.

Taylor's record - in List A and first-class cricket - is exceptional. Aged 25, he has already scored 19 first-class centuries and averages 46.59 in the red ball game, while in List A cricket, he has 14 centuries and an average of 52.04: figures that make you wonder why he has had to wait so long. He would appear he will be competing for a spot in the Test side with Ian Bell and Jonny Bairstow.

He was called into a crumbling England Test environment in 2012, but after a decent showing - he put on a century stand with Kevin Pietersen in his first Test innings and was run-out going for a fourth in a run-chase in his other game - he was jettisoned after two Tests without having had a fair chance to prove himself.

Even now, he owes his call-up - in part - to the decision to rest Joe Root from the ODI series against Australia. That allowed Taylor a run in the limited-overs side and, with a maiden international century and three innings in the 40s, he seized that opportunity. Without it, Gary Ballance may well have been selected on this tour ahead of him.