 He played for Oxford University from 2003 to 2006 playing each season in the Varsity match against Cambridge University.His debut First-class match was for Oxford against Middlesex in which his first wickets were future England internationals, Andrew Strauss and Owais Shah.In 2004, he played two Under-19 Test matches against Bangladesh alongside Somerset team-mate James Hildreth, under the captaincy of opener Alastair Cook.