Cox was caught by surprise when he was contacted by England head coach Brendon McCullum to tell him of his selection for the Test squad.

“I was at Battersea Park and I had a missed call. I just thought it was someone trying to sell me something so left it.

“Then Baz sent me a text saying ‘give me a call back, it’s Baz.’ I called back pretty quick hoping he didn’t choose someone else instead of me,” Cox said.

“I’ve always felt I was a bit closer to the white-ball side than anything, so to get the call in red-ball is amazing.

“I didn’t think what I did this year would have any effect. There are so many good young players out there, I thought I had to do it for a couple of years and keep smashing that door down.”

Cox, who went on an England T20 tour to Pakistan in 2022 without playing a game, is Essex’s leading scorer in the County Championship, with 763 runs at an average of almost 70, including three centuries.

The first Test against Sri Lanka starts at Old Trafford on 21 August and whether he gets to play or not, Cox is relishing the opportunity.

He added: “My Pakistan tour, seven T20s, I was there for a month, I think I learned more in that month than I have in my five years playing professional cricket.

“These three games, I think I’ll learn so much from that, it’ll be the best experience of my life, for sure.”