Perth Scorchers all-rounder Ashton Agar has revealed he slept through the initial phone call from chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns about his shock Test call-up.
Agar was on Friday morning called into Australia’s 13-man squad for the Third Test against Pakistan at the SCG.
The previous night Agar had hit a dramatic match-winning six off the final ball to help the Scorchers defeat the Melbourne Renegades by four wickets at Etihad Stadium, so he was entitled to a sleep-in.
“I actually missed the first one and then woke up to another one,” Agar recalled when asked about the phone call from Hohns.
“I picked it up and he just said ‘this is one of those good calls mate, you’re in the Test squad’.
“I just said ‘thanks very much’. I was really happy.”
Agar stayed in Melbourne on Friday along with Hilton Cartwright, while the remainder of the squad flew back to Perth.
However, there was a crucial item he needed flown over to Melbourne, before jetting up to Sydney on Saturday.
“I called my girlfriend Madi. I said I need you to come to Melbourne because she has my baggy green at home in Perth,” Agar said.
“She had to bring a few of my things over. Fortunately she came about six hours later.”
The two-Test player added he wasn’t thinking about a Test recall prior to the call-up and wasn’t sure about his chances of playing in Sydney at this stage.
“I wasn’t sure to be honest, it was the last thing I was thinking about,” Agar said.
“My dad had mentioned it to me one day, he said ‘you might be a chance for the Test side’.
“I honestly thought I’d be heading back to Perth, but I’m very very happy to be here.”
The call-up capped a whirlwind 24 hours for Agar, following his heroics on Thursday.
“It was nice to hit the winning runs the other night and to get the call in the morning really topped it off,” he said.