Dan Lawrence was enjoying some well-earned time off during a busy winter when news of his Test recall arrived.
"I was on holiday in Cape Town with my missus over Christmas," he explains. "I got a call from Baz [McCullum] and he said, 'You're coming to New Zealand'. It was a great day and a little bit of a surprise, but a very welcome surprise."
Lawrence had not been involved under the new England regime, led by head coach McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes, last featuring a year ago on the West Indies tour that marked the end of Joe Root's captaincy.
There, he had come close to a first Test hundred during what, on a personal level, was an encouraging series. But a lack of runs early in the county season, some untimely hamstring trouble and the change in leadership looked to have seen the Essex batter slip off the radar.
"I was disappointed not to be involved in the summer," he says. "But I could understand which way they went and it's fine.
"I always believed there was going to be an opportunity at some stage. Cricket has a way of giving you an opportunity when you don't expect it sometimes."
Lawrence had little trouble slotting back into the group ("I love my golf," he laughs) and though, in the end, he did not feature in the 1-1 drawn series in New Zealand, he reflects on this winter with a great deal more fondness than the previous one, when he ran drinks throughout the 4-0 Ashes thumping in Australia.
"Australia was such a tough tour, not just because of the cricket, but because of all the stuff that was going on around it with Covid," he says. "People were scared to go near each other, there were so many other factors. It wasn't that enjoyable a trip.
"With New Zealand, I was just buzzing to be back. I was disappointed not to play, because seeing the style of cricket they're playing makes you desperate to get out there, but I think just being involved and seeing for the first time how they go about it was really exciting. It was great fun, a brilliant tour."
Quite how Lawrence makes the step from that squad position into the XI is unclear.
The middle order, where the 25-year-old has spent most of his career, is particularly congested, and England are already puzzling over how to accommodate last summer's Test hero Jonny Bairstow when he returns from his broken leg.
Lawrence has not ruled out a move up the order at Essex in a bid to press his claims, with England's openers most vulnerable, but believes volume of runs will ultimately prove more important than where they are scored.
"I've had a conversation about where I bat," he says. "I think what England are going to do, if a batter does miss out or gets injured, is just pick the next best available player.
"I've got no doubt about my ability. It's just ‘go out there, score runs and see if there is an opportunity’. To play for England, I'd bat anywhere."
More immediately, Lawrence has attention on tomorrow's Hundred draft, though from the perspective of plotter, rather than simply player, having this week been announced as London Spirit's new captain.
Despite his experience of captaincy consisting of one England Lions game this winter and before that "not a hell of a lot", Lawrence believes he is ready to lead, having learned not only from watching Stokes at close quarters this winter, but also playing under his Spirit predecessor Eoin Morgan last summer.
"As long as there's an environment where the players can thrive and enjoy it, then apart from tactical stuff on the day, there's not a lot to do," he says. "Keep it fairly relaxed and we should be good as gold."
