Jordan Cox’s winter schedule has never looked busier. The newly-minted PCA men’s player of the year will start the England Lions’ tour of Australia but then hop off the plane early, swapping Brisbane for the bright lights – and sizeable pay cheque – of the ILT20 with Dubai Capitals.
England left the 23-year-old out of their 16-man Ashes squad, deciding that Ollie Pope could double as back-up keeper to Jamie Smith. Even so, Cox will have one genuine chance to impress Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum in England’s sole warm-up fixture before moving on. Unless injury strikes, he is expected to be in Dubai before the tournament opens on 2 December.
“We have got an agreement,” Cox said at the Toyota PCA Awards last week. “I won’t be at the Lions as long as people think. I will be there for the first game, maybe the second. It’s mainly to help the England boys get ready for the Test matches, which is the most important thing. When they don’t need me, they will flick me off to Dubai.”
Dubai Capitals picked him up as a replacement signing just before the recent auction. Word around the circuit is that the contract is worth close to US$250,000 – serious money for a player still finding his feet at international level. His travel dates remain fluid but the expectation is he will exit before the Lions face Australia A in Brisbane on 5 December.
Cox’s route to the Test team has already had a few bumps. Last winter a badly-timed thumb injury ruled him out of a potential debut in New Zealand. Now he is back there with England’s T20 squad, fresh from a summer where he scored heavily for Essex, helped Oval Invincibles lift the Hundred and posted a maiden international fifty against Ireland.
“There is some England stuff I’d love to be a part of,” he said. “But if not, there’s a few franchise competitions and I’ll have some fun. My aim is to play Test cricket, but I wouldn’t wish an injury on anyone. If I get a chance, it would be awesome.”
The 23-year-old knows one good net session will not be enough. “It will be nice to show Stokes, Baz and Keysy [Rob Key]. They haven’t watched me live much in red-ball [cricket]. They have come to Hundred or T20 games, but I don’t imagine they are coming to much four-day cricket. Maybe they will see something different that they like – or not – and I’d like to show them [what I can do] in the flesh. That would be really good.”
Cox is also realistic about the off-field stuff that can sway selectors. “I was close to a Test call-up but hopefully I will get closer. It will be nice to be on the Lions and try to score a few runs against the England bowlers to show them I’m capable… You always notice more outside of the nets: do they mingle well with the group? Are they polite, well-mannered? All that sort of stuff you need to be if you want to be an England player.”
While Cox plans flights, Brydon Carse has been sorting footwear. The Durham quick – also in New Zealand for the T20Is – spent last winter battling an infected toe and burned through several pairs of spikes in the English summer trying to protect it. This time he is travelling with a suitcase full of specially modified boots.
Carse reports good news on the medical front. He had “absolutely no problems” with the toe during the domestic season and credits his kit supplier. “They’ve kitted me out with enough pairs of boots to go away,” he said, acknowledging that another breakdown would do neither his bowling nor England’s depth chart any favours.
Analysis
For England, Cox’s detour is a balancing act. He gains exposure to high-pressure franchise cricket and pockets life-changing money, yet he also forfeits valuable time with red-ball coaches in Australian conditions. The Lions staff appear relaxed, seeing his early involvement – however brief – as a chance for England bowlers to work at a current county form player before the Ashes.
From Cox’s perspective, the calculation is simple: keep scoring, stay fit, and be ready if a spot opens. With an Ashes winter on the horizon and a hectic global T20 landscape, that safety net could come sooner than he thinks.
