Monday 8 February 2016 07:44, UK
Alex Hales is still hopeful his one-day prowess will translate to the Test-match arena with England.
Hales was given his chance as Test opener during the recent series against the world's No 1 side South Africa but was unable to nail the position down as he scored just 136 runs in eight innings.
The Nottinghamshire batsman made his name in the limited-overs formats and has since gone on to score successive fifties to help England take a 2-0 lead in the subsequent ODI series.
But Hales has unfinished business with the five-day game, and he said: "I think any form of international cricket leads into another.
"I did have some questions to answer coming into this series, but I've felt in good touch since we switched to the white ball.
"I hope if I can keep this good form going, take it into the Twenty20s and World T20, I can keep going into the five-day arena into the summer.
"It is up to me to go back and score runs early in the season when it's toughest to bat and show I am ready for that May Test match [against Sri Lanka]. I hope I'll get a chance. If I do, I've got a lot to prove - and I'm ready for it."
Asked what had gone wrong during a Test series in which his top score was 60, Hales - a naturally-attacking player - said: "Mentally, I tried not to approach it differently.
"I guess it's just been a higher standard, and obviously in general a pretty tough place to open the batting anyway. It has been a learning curve, and I hope I can take what I learnt from it and improve in the summer."
England will secure the series victory in the ODIs if they win the third of five scheduled matches in Centurion on Tuesday.
