In our family, getting up early is the norm. My parents are both working-class, both hard workers. They’re always up by 7. As a kid I’d hear them moving around the house and think: “Okay, time to get up.” You know what it’s like — you hear a bit of noise and want to know what’s happening, just in case you’re missing something. After all these years, my body’s got used to waking up early. It’s a routine. I’m a sportsman and my body responds well to routine.

I always have a healthy breakfast: cereal, a bit of toast, yoghurt, fruit, lots of water. No tea or coffee in the morning — maybe a coffee later in the day, but never first thing. Then I jump in the shower. I always use Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner. Not because I’m a big girl or anything; I just find it does the job. My hair is actually quite long and I need to keep it clean. I only wash it once or twice a week, though. And I never shave. Never have done. That’s what I consider the norm.

When you’re brought up in a particular environment, things become effortless. My religion is effortless. It’s just there. I go to temple about once a month, and my parents have never put me under pressure to be more devout. That’s what I love about them. They’re quite strict Sikhs, but they’re very open-minded. They respect my feelings too. I suppose that’s why I’m still living with them.

If I’m not training in the morning, I’ll probably switch on the PlayStation — me and Isher are always playing against each other. We enjoy a good game of chess too. And music is a big part of every day for me. I was in the car the other day and found this station called Diverse FM. They play some serious, serious R&B on there.

I still do my shopping at the Arndale Centre in Luton. I was born and brought up in Luton and it will always feel like home for me. The only difference is these days somebody might shout out: “Hey, Monty, how’s it going?” It’s always nice. The first time somebody asked for an autograph was weird. Think about it — two years ago I was still at university, studying computing and management, and nobody knew who I was.

Most of my friends are people I’ve known for years. Nothing has changed, except they probably take the piss out of me more now. But that’s a good reality check. If you start playing for England and all your mates start treating you like you’re something special, maybe you start acting like you’re something special. I hope that never happens to me.

I’ve been vegetarian all my life — my parents are vegetarian too — but that doesn’t really stop me eating out. In most places you can find some salad or pasta for lunch. I always try to get a few carbs in there, and a protein shake. Lots of fruit, too. I eat loads of oranges. I love ’em. The only time being veggie is a problem is if all my team-mates are going out for a steak. Sorry, lads.

In the past I got a bit addicted to going to the gym. When I was at uni I used to go mad with the weights. I still go to the gym a lot now, or I’ll go up to Northants to do a bit of work with the fitness guys, but I have to be careful with the weights. It’s easy to build up the wrong muscles. Huge shoulder muscles and biceps get in the way when you’re bowling. Back squats are very good. I do a lot of them.

There’s not a day goes by when I don’t think about bowling. Even if I’m just walking round the house, I practise my movement. I’m a left-arm spinner, but there are lots of different categories — leg-spinner, finger-spinner, orthodox action, unorthodox action where you open up your shoulders a bit… The way I practise is repetition. Just bowl and bowl and bowl until it’s as easy as breathing.

When I was a kid we had a great local cricket club. My dad started taking me there on Sunday mornings when I was 10 or 11. At first I was like: “What’s going on, Dad? Why am I running around in the rain on a Sunday morning? I should be playing computer games.” But you get used to it. I knew guys who got into dodgy stuff as kids, but education, sport and focus was a big thing in our family. That kept me on the right path. My parents came here from India and they had it tough. They worked hard to get where they are. That’s definitely rubbed off on me and my brother and sister.

It doesn’t happen that often, but I love it when the whole family sits down for dinner. My mum is a wicked cook. The best! She’s great at all the traditional Indian food, but she does fantastic Italian stuff too. Her lasagne is brilliant.

I genuinely do enjoy living with my parents. I’m so proud of both of them and I still find it easy to talk to them. Yeah, there will be a time to move on and think about relationships and all that stuff, but at the moment I’m not ready. People ask if I get more interest from girls now I play for England. Well, um, to be honest, not really. The cricket takes up all of my time.

I’m usually in bed by about 11, and if I’ve had a bad game my mind will start turning round in circles. Why did you play that shot? Why did you bowl that ball? But it’s pointless. You can’t change things. You just have to let it go.

The DVD Monty’s Cricket Madness is out now (£15.99

Interview by Danny Scott. Portrait by Louis Quail

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