'I didn’t know' - Matthew Fisher's family put £100 on pacer to play for England

A new era seems to have gotten underway in England cricket as veteran speedsters James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been left out of the three-match Test series against West Indies next month. Matthew Fisher is among the new faces in the squad and the fast bowler is raring to make a mark. The Yorkshire pacer has been impressive lately and expectations are high from him.

Meanwhile, Fisher revealed an interesting story while speaking about his maiden call-up in the national team. The youngster’s heart raced up after he received a voice note from interim head coach Paul Collingwood. He immediately did a group call with his family members and broke the good news.

I was buzzing after receiving the selection news: Matthew Fisher

‘I was sat on the sofa and my phone flashed up, “Paul Collingwood WhatsApp Audio”,’ Fisher was quoted as saying by Sports Mail. “For some reason, I stood up. It seemed too relaxed to just take the call on the sofa! Colly just said “Congratulations” and I was buzzing. I wanted to get off the phone and tell everyone. We have a family WhatsApp group and I immediately did a group call. They all went nuts!” he added.

Meanwhile, Fisher’s brother and mother placed a 100 pound bet on him to represent England at odds of 50-1 when he was 14. He came to know about the secret after receiving his call-up. ‘Oh, wow!,’ was Fisher’s initial reaction. “I’d heard a rumour that something had gone on but I didn’t know the details. That’s amazing,” he added.

Around 18 months after the bet took place, in June 2013, Fisher broke a 91-year-old record to become the youngest player to feature in a competitive county game. At 15 years and 212 days, he recorded figures of 1/40 in a 40-over match for Yorkshire against Leicestershire.

Meanwhile, Fisher also revealed that former England captain Michael Vaughan predicting his bright future put him under the pump. “I remember Michael Vaughan used to put me in his next World Cup team, next Ashes team. That all probably put pressure on me and led me to wanting it to happen so fast,” he revealed.