His selection has left him with only one day for packing before his move to Epsom next Tuesday, but by then, if all goes according to plan, England will have won the one-day series and Brown will be nearer his ambition of making the World Cup team. The removal men can take care of the rest.

Brown, 28, said yesterday he was relieved he would not become a Trivial Pursuit question as the man who scored a hundred for England and was never picked again for a major series, though the Surrey batsman will not necessarily be playing in the opening match at his home ground tomorrow.

His form dipped into depression after his hundred against India in Manchester two years ago. He was dropped by Surrey and needed a season to regain the belligerent touch, assisted by his 203 in the AXA League off 119 balls against Hampshire last summer.

His return for the Hong Kong Sixes and Sharjah under the captaincy of Adam Hollioake, his county team-mate, was spoilt by his failure to gain selection for the series in the West Indies.

``I think I've come back stronger for it,'' he said. ``I've tried to look on the positive side, and I've even been playing well in the nets.''

Brown believes that everything is clicking into place in what could be a momentous year, with Surrey's good start to the season, his new house and forthcoming marriage to Sarah Griffiths in October, when Alec Stewart will be an usher.

Meanwhile, Chris Adams, the only player in the 14-strong squad without experience at England senior or A-team level, received a good luck telephone call yesterday morning from his mentor, Dean Jones, in Australia.

Adams's selection meant he would miss his Sussex team's championship match against Derbyshire, the county he left in acrimonious circumstances during the winter after Jones's departure as captain. ``I'm a great believer in destiny,'' he said.