Hales hopes to emulate 'idol' Pietersen

England limited-overs batsman Alex Hales has not yet been given a run in the Test team, but hopes that if he does get a cap in the upcoming series against New Zealand he'll be given the freedom to play like his 'idol' Kevin Pietersen.

Hales feels former England batsman Pietersen is his ideal role model, playing a similar brand of cricket and is similar in build as well. Both batsmen are batting to get picked for the Ashes, with Hales pushing to open the batting and KP aiming for an unlikely recall.

Hales has had a great start to the County Championship this year with scores of 236, 141 and 94 already for an average of 85. In saying that, he has been batting at 3 and not opening for Notts.

I'd be shocked if Lyth doesn't get the nod to open with Cook against New Zealand. He did score a fifty against Hampshire today and is a natural opener.