In March 2015 Alex Hales was reduced to, for the most part, carrying drinks as England exited the World Cup at the first hurdle.
A year on, the Notts Outlaws and England batsman is preparing for the biggest occasion of his cricketing life; a semi-final showdown with New Zealand at the ICC World T20.
Hales only featured in the final two matches of the 50-over campaign down under, scoring 27 and 37, but he has since been a fixture at the top of his country’s white ball order, as well as earning a debut in the red ball format.
Partnered by Surrey dasher Jason Roy, the explosive duo have become proficient in tone-setting for a team whose form since the start of the 2015 summer has been celebrated as a rebirth by the world’s media.
A rapid half-century at Trent Bridge provided the impetus required for England’s record record run-chase of 350 en-route to a 3-2 series victory. A maiden ODI ton against Pakistan followed.
Then, in South Africa, the tall opener posted in excess of 50 in all five matches, with a century in Cape Town providing a fitting crescendo.
And while recent performances look to have finally secured a regular place in England's ODI setup, his position in the team for the shortest format has, by contrast, been secure for sometime.
Having made his debut in 2011, the 27-year-old has blazed seven fifties (including a 99) and a memorable 116 against Sri Lanka in the World T20 of two years ago.
His average of 32.40 in the format combines with a strike-rate of 134.56 for a lofty bating index of 166.96. Hales is the number three ranked T20 batsman in the world.
With scores of 28, 17 and 0 in the tournament to date, law of averages dictates that a major contribution could well be just around the corner as preparations to face the Kiwis continue.
It’s a view to which Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket Mick Newell certainly subscribes.
“It’s very tough to be a consistently high run-scorer in T20 cricket,” said Newell, who plucked Hales from the MCC ground staff ahead of the 2008 season and has overseen his development ever since.
“That’s the nature of the game. If you’re successful one in three or four times, you can be a successful T20 player.
“He’s done very well to be so high in the world rankings. I certainly don’t think he’ll be worried about his form.
“A couple of shots in the first few overs against New Zealand and off he goes again.”
Commenting on a whirlwind 12 months for the former Buckinghamshire minor counties batsman, Newell believes scoring runs for Nottinghamshire is what propelled Hales to success in the international arena since the World Cup.
“He performed very well for us last summer and consequently went on to play all formats of international cricket," said Newell.
“He has played some good cricket for England, particularly in the one-day series against New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa where he scored good runs.
“Hopefully he’s in a really confident place and ready to make an impression in a huge game.
"That’s what he’s done in the past and that’s what he’ll be desperate to do tomorrow.”
For Hales to be successful on the biggest stage of his career he’ll likely have to overcome a trial by spin as Newell would not be surprised to see Nathan McCullum, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi all feature for the Black Caps.
“It will be interesting to see how the spinners on both sides do,” said Newell.
“England’s were pretty effective until the Sri Lanka game and their contribution will be crucial in this match.
“The improvement in England’s quick bowling and death bowling has been terrific throughout the competition, and that will also be important.
“How many spinners will New Zealand play? And can England get on top of them?
“They’ll certainly play two. It just depends on the pitch whether they play three, so there is potential for New Zealand to bowl as many as 12 overs of spin, which will be a challenge for England.
“They were World Cup finalists in 50-over cricket and have been successful again in this competition so far.
“They are a very aggressive, attacking batting side, a decent fielding team and there’s a lot of experience in their ranks.
“England will need to play some really good cricket. Hopefully they are coming to the boil at the right time.”
England are returning to the scene of their Ashes triumph in 2016 for Royal London One-Day Internationals against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Don't miss the opportunity to watch some of the best players in the world go toe-to-toe in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge and secure your seats now.