other cricket; he played in inter-services matches during the week, and obtained weekend passes to play league cricket for Leeds on Saturdays and charity matches on Sundays. Between playing football and cricket, he had little time for anything else, so much so according to Close, he was never given a job in the army, as he would have no time in which to do it. His performances attracted the attention of the England cricket captain, Brown, who wanted Close to be included in the English party to tour Australia for the 1950–51 Ashes series. Brown consulted Close's county coach, former England bowler Bill Bowes, who pleaded with Brown not to select Close, arguing that such early promotion would damage him as a player. Brown ignored Bowes and selected Close. Close's call-up to the Australian touring party attracted considerable press interest, and a press conference was called at Catterick to give the press a chance to question him. However, his moment of glory also gave rise to controversy, when one pressman found out that Close was "confined to barracks" for disciplinary reasons at the time his call-up was announced: he had absented himself from an army cricket match. The pressman promised to stay silent, but a week later a clerk on the camp newspaper telephoned the Daily Express with the news. However, Close still toured; his National Service was suspended so that he could do so, as touring sportsmen were considered to be ambassadors for the United Kingdom. Close was the youngest player on the tour, and had little in common with the rest of the party; by the end he was not even on talking terms with most of them. After a reasonable start, making a century on his First Class debut in Australia, Close faltered, and then became injured, with a badly pulled groin muscle. He was selected to play in the second Test, which England lost by 28 runs. After Australia were dismissed for 194, England had collapsed to 54 for 4 when Close came in to bat, with only eight deliveries to go before the lunch interval on the second day. Misjudging the bounce on the Melbourne wicket, which was somewhat different from the bounce of English wickets, he swept a ball from Jack Iverson only to get a top edge to Sam Loxton, fielding behind square leg. E. W. Swanton called it the worst shot he