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.