Born in South Africa and initially schooled at St John's College, Johannesburg, he moved to England at the age of 14 and gained British citizenship, making him eligible for the England cricket team. After impressing for the England Lions in the West Indies in the early part of 2011, he was called up to the senior team as a replacement for Ajmal Shahzad for the knock out stages of the 2011 Cricket World Cup and made his Twenty20 and ODI debuts later that year against Sri Lanka.