It was cricket's worst-kept secret — but it still took Jofra Archer by surprise when he was heading to play 5-a-side football with his mates and Ed Smith called.
'I was on my way to football. I just felt the phone vibrate and answered it to the car's Bluetooth,' Archer says of his England World Cup call-up as he sits down exclusively with Sportsmail at Lord's.
'I honestly thought it was my mum or one of my friends as I thought I'd have got the phone call (from chairman of selectors Smith) a lot earlier in the afternoon. I said to myself, "he's probably not going to call today". So I was quite surprised.
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Jofra Archer was heading off to play 5-a-side football when he received his England call-up
Sportsmail's Luke Augustus caught up with Archer at Lord's ahead of the World Cup
'I called my mum straight away. I'd just left for football so I think she thought I was calling about something else. I told her and she was more excited than I was!'
His mother, fashion designer Joelle, is not alone. Her Manchester United supporting son has caused quite a stir.
The 24-year-old fast bowler's accelerated path to the England setup is well-documented. He was born in Bridgetown, Barbados and although his mother is Bajan, he has a British passport through his English father.
Last November, the England and Wales Cricket Board changed their residency rules, meaning Archer would be available in time for the World Cup build-up. Under the previous guidelines he wouldn't have been eligible until the winter of 2022 following a seven-year residency. Having qualified in March, he then impressed in this month's warm-up matches against Ireland and Pakistan to such an extent that he was a shoo-in for Eoin Morgan's No 1-ranked side.
The prospect of his call-up led to David Willey, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood expressing concerns. But, Archer says, there was no resentment.
'Some of the guys got my number off (Sussex team-mate) Chris Jordan and messaged me that they were misquoted in some of the interviews that they had done. They weren't shy in coming over and saying, "that's not who we are or how we operate".
'I'm always a bit shy. But I had CJ with me and he is one of my closest friends, so as long as I had him I knew I would be fine. I knew some of the other boys from playing at county level and overseas franchise tournaments. But when I got to training the environment was great.'
24-year-old Archer has enjoyed an accelerated path to the senior England set-up
Like Archer; Jordan, 30, was born in Barbados and chose to play for England. The pair are neighbours living close to The County Ground Hove – the home of Sussex. Close friends on-and-off the field, Archer credits Jordan for where he is today.
'He's pretty much the reason why I'm here in the first place,' he reflects. 'We live next door to each other and we always go around each other's houses. Our relationship goes far beyond cricket.'
If it's not 5-a-side football - and one imagines England director of cricket Ashley Giles will be telling him to hang up the astroturf trainers sharpish - Archer fills his time listening to dancehall, rap and hip-hop music as well as playing Fortnite on his Xbox. But cricket has always been his first love.
He got into the sport back in Barbados through
