Alex Hales insists he is NOT driven by the past ahead of England’s World Cup final

Alex Hales, the hero of England’s blistering Twenty20 World Cup semi-final victory over India, wants to finish the job tomorrow and come home with first prize when they take on Pakistan here at the MCG. 

The England opener has a special incentive to win having missed out on England’s 50-over glory at Lord’s in 2019 after a failed drugs test. 

But the past, he insists, is not his motivation. 

Hales missed out on England’s 50-over World Cup glory in 2019 because he failed a drugs test

‘That’s not what’s on my mind when I’m out in the middle,’ said Hales. 

‘I’m just playing with a smile on my face in an England shirt again and if I can leave with a World Cup winner’s medal it would be very special.’ 

England’s Australian coach Matthew Mott, bidding to become the second Aussie after Trevor Bayliss to lead England’s men to a global title, has told the team to seize the moment. 

Mott said on Friday he had no need to gee up a focused side, who reached new heights on Thursday with their incredible 10-wicket thrashing of India.

The batsman has been in superb form throughout the tournament and saved his best for India

He and Jos Buttler single-handedly chased down India’s total of 170 in Thursday’s semi-final

‘We haven’t come here just to make the final, we’ve come here to win it,’ said Mott.

‘And I got a clear feeling everybody was motivated to do that when I saw them last night. There was a good feeling among the players after that win but no sense of anything over the top. Everyone is focused on beating Pakistan.’

A cloud remains over the final of a tournament dogged by bad weather, with heavy rain forecast for Melbourne tomorrow and the reserve day on Monday.

The worst-case scenario would see the teams contesting a Super Over to decide the destiny of the World Cup and if that is not possible the trophy will be shared.

England coach Matthew Mott insisted his side were ‘clearly motivated’ ahead of the huge final 

England will probably be without injured duo Mark Wood and Dawid Malan, who both missed the semi-final, with Mott adding: ‘They are struggling. It would be a real risk taking injured players into a final.’

Meanwhile, team mentor Matthew Hayden revealed Pakistan are using their World Cup success over England 30 years ago as inspiration. 

He said: ‘We’ve had Ramiz Raja talk to the boys and he was reliving some of those stories around the 1992 World Cup. All bases are covered.’