A Test recall was so unexpected for Victorian left-arm spinner Jon Holland that he declined to answer a call from chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns.
The 30-year-old Victorian, playing his only two Tests during a 2016 tour of Sri Lanka, has a chance to don the baggy green again after being included for the Australian squad for the four-Test tour of South Africa in March.
Playing second fiddle to standout spinner Nathan Lyon, he said he wasn't anticipating another Test tour until 2019 when Australia returned to the subcontinent.
"I was in my car driving home, screened the call and then gave Trevor a call back a little bit later," he told 3AW.
"I did see (his name) but I thought it would have been bad news ... I waited a little bit and then called him back."
The left-arm orthodox spinner has taken 11 wickets at an average of 18.63 in two Sheffield Shield matches this season, after a 50-wicket campaign in 2016-17.
But he said with Lyon bowling beautifully, he couldn't see a way back in.
"It was a bit of a shock, a good shock," he said.
"It's not something you expect to come along."
Holland is most likely to get a run on the spin-friendly pitch in Cape Town, where severe drought has the city on the verge of running out of water.
It is traditionally the most-conducive South African pitch for slower bowlers. However, during India's ongoing three-Test tour, a green top gifted 38 of 40 wickets to the pacemen.
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