David Graveney [England’s chairman of selectors] rang me and said, “We’re going to pick your brother for the ODI series against Australia. Do you think he’s ready?” And I said, “Well, no, I don’t, but with Ben you just never know”.
I knew he was going to be good enough to play for England, but at that stage I didn’t think he had much behind him, to recover if things went wrong. He was only 19, playing his first full season at Surrey.