England’s Alex Hales retires from internaitonal cricket with immediate effect
London, Aug 4: Explosive and temperamental England opening batter Alex Hales on Friday announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect.
Hales, who made his international debut against India in August 2011 in a T20I at Manchester, represented England in 11 Tests, 70 One-Day Internationals and 75 T20Is.
Incidentally, Hales' last impact innings on the international stage was also against India, a brutal, unbeaten 47-ball 86 (4x4s, 7x6s) in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
Hales and Jos Buttler (80 not out) had powered England to a 10-wicket win while chasing 169 at Adelaide.
“Just a note to announce that I have decided to retire from international cricket,” Hales shared in a note on his Instagram account.
''It has been an absolute privilege to have represented my country on 156 occasions across all three formats. l've made some memories and some friendships to last a lifetime and I feel that now is the right time to move on,” he wrote.
Hales, whose last appearance for England was in the T20 World Cup 2022 final against Pakistan at Melbourne, said, ''Throughout my time in an England shirt I've experienced some of the highest highs as well as some of the lowest lows. It's been an incredible journey and I feel very content that my last game for England was winning a World Cup final.''
Hales was not a part of England’s World Cup winning campaign in 2019 when the team’s captain Eoin Morgan and senior players decided that he had no role to play, while he served a 21-day ban for failing a second recreational drugs case. Morgan had termed it as ‘a complete breakdown of trust’.
But Hales was a vital cog in England’s revival in white-ball cricket. In fact, he contributed a 92-ball 147 (16x4s, 5x6s) when England piled up a monumental 481/6 against Australia in the Nottingham ODI in 2018 — the second highest ODI total ever.
Hales scored 2,419 runs at 37.79 with six centuries and 14 fifties in 70 ODIs. In 75 T20Is, he made 2,074 runs at 30.95 with one century and 12 half-centuries. In 11 Tests, he could only manage five fifties and a total of 573 runs at 27.28.
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American man’s video shows Blinkit delivery reaching in six minutes in Delhi
New Delhi: A video shared by an American resident living in South Delhi has drawn attention to the speed of India’s quick-commerce services after it showed a Blinkit order being delivered in just six minutes.
The video was posted by Charlie Evans, who shared it to show friends in the United States how delivery services operate in Indian cities. In the clip, Evans places an order for bottled water and a screwdriver at 5.43 pm. The delivery arrives at his doorstep at 5.49 pm, leaving him visibly surprised.
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In the video description, Evans described the service as “supreme” and noted that such a turnaround time would be difficult to imagine in most American cities. He explained that Blinkit works as a one-stop platform for daily and last-minute needs, offering items ranging from groceries to household tools.
Evans also spoke about the efficiency of delivery partners in navigating Delhi’s dense neighbourhoods and apartment complexes. He said he was often impressed by how quickly riders locate addresses, adding that finding the correct building is sometimes the only reason for minor delays.
The video gained traction on social media, with many users sharing similar experiences of rapid deliveries in Indian metro cities, where quick-commerce platforms commonly promise deliveries within 10 minutes. Some users commented that such services have become a routine part of urban life in India.
Similar observations have been made earlier by other foreign residents and entrepreneurs, including a US-based businessman who recently said he was surprised to receive orders from Indian delivery platforms within minutes, compared to significantly longer delivery times in the United States.
