Jacob Bethell, who picked up a right knee injury during the Hundred a couple of weeks ago, will sit out the first two Test games against Pakistan. In his stead, Jordan Cox, who made his Test debut against New Zealand in June, will bat at No. 3.
An unfamiliar position, but no complaints
His debut Test remains so far the only one in his career, and even in his first-class career, Cox has not had much experience batting at first drop. But Cox has no complaints; he will turn up for England wherever he is asked to.
“I feel like I was lucky enough to start my career opening the batting. If England asked you to bat anywhere, I think you do it. So for the opportunity to bat three is going to be awesome. Obviously it’s not my strongest position, but like I said before, anywhere when you get the chance to play for England, you take it.”
Adapting between formats
Cox is currently playing the Hundred for Welsh Fire. Before his Hundred stint began, he was part of Essex’s squad for the Vitality Blast. Between the white-ball games and his Test debut, Cox could only play one first-class game this season, where he scored a double hundred. The sudden shift from the shortest to the longest format will obviously not be smooth, but Cox believes the basics remain the same regardless of format.
“For me personally it doesn’t change much. A bad ball’s still a bad ball. In Test cricket it’s just about batting time and unfortunately in Hundred cricket you don’t get time. So you have a bit of fun and try and show your skill. Test cricket’s what you want to be playing, but this hundred-ball cricket for a month is great fun.”
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