When Jordan Cox finally makes his Test debut against New Zealand at The Oval this week, he will complete an improbable journey that began with a show of bravado at the age of 10.
Cox had turned up for his first trial at Kent, where the coaches instructed the wicketkeepers to go off and get their gear. No one moved, so young Jordan piped up: ‘If you’ve got a pair of gloves, I’ll do it. I’ve seen it on the telly. It can’t be that hard.’
Talk to anyone who worked with Cox during his rise through Kent age-group cricket via Felsted School to Essex and England, and the same qualities keep cropping up.
‘He’s a confident boy,’ says Jason Gallian, the former England opener and now head of cricket at Felsted, where he remembers the 15-year-old Cox demolishing an MCC attack for an unbeaten 140, leaving Essex seamer Max Osborne with figures of 7–0–54–0.
‘It’s hard to explain but, because of the way he plays, he was always uncoachable, and I don’t mean that in the wrong way,’ Gallian tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘It was just: keep doing what you’re doing. His hand-eye coordination was very quick, and he picks the ball up so quickly. That was what made him different.’
Matt Walker, who coached Cox at Kent, was equally impressed: ‘I’ve never come across someone with so much inner belief. Sometimes that air of arrogance and confidence can be a mask. With Jordan, there’s this genuine belief he’s good enough.’
‘His hand-eye coordination was very quick, and he picks the ball up so quickly. That was what made him different’
If Jordan Cox finally makes his Test debut against New Zealand at The Oval this week, he will complete an improbable journey that began with a show of bravado at the age of 10
Jordan’s dad, Stafford, ascribes his confidence to his Australian mum, Roslyn. Both parents played tennis semi-professionally, which may help explain the hand-eye coordination. Cox is a superb golfer, too.
It was the first topic of conversation when, 18 months ago, Brendon McCullum told Cox he’d been called up for the Test tour of New Zealand – only for him to miss out on a first cap after breaking his right thumb in the nets in Queenstown.
Now, after thrashing 204 off 201 balls for Essex against Leicestershire at Grace Road in his first red-ball innings since July 2025, he will replace Ben Stokes while the ECB investigate his curfew-busting trip to a Chelsea nightclub after England’s first Test win over the Kiwis at Lord’s.
That tour de force at Leicester, meanwhile, came despite spending the entire IPL on the bench for eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and appearing only once for Essex – in a T20 Blast game against Kent – since his return. Between February 24 and June 5, he did not play a competitive innings.
‘We wanted to see what he could do before being thrust into that role for the first time,’ said McCullum. ‘He scored a double-hundred, which was a pretty compelling case. We think his power and his rounded game are a pretty good fit at No 7.’
It means Cox will have the chance to show he has worked on a weakness against the short ball, evident during England’s tour of the West Indies in late 2024, when he won three of his nine white-ball caps.
Stafford does not mess about. ‘He got found out twice in the Caribbean against the short ball, didn’t he?’ he says. ‘Marcus Trescothick said to him: “you need to work on that”.’
It was why, soon after that trip, Cox spent a few days with Gallian before flying to New Zealand, including an intensive net session aimed at ironing out the problem.
‘I got a big net up and was slinging the ball at him as close as I possibly could, and trying not to get hit,’ says Gallian. ‘He does hit it very hard. I had lots of protection.’
Cox’s Caribbean misadventure also triggered the trolls, exposing him to public censure in a way he had never experienced. Even his natural self-assurance took a blow
He has won nine white-ball caps for England and was due to make his Test debut 18 months ago in New Zealand before an ill-timed thumb injury
Cox’s Caribbean misadventure also triggered the trolls, exposing him to public censure in a way he had never experienced. Even his natural self-assurance took a blow.
‘Some of the stuff written about him on social media hit him hard,’ says Stafford. ‘I was given good advice by an ex-pro at Essex: when he gets into the England team, he should throw his mobile phone in the bin.
‘It can destroy you, because if you’re not doing well these people will hit you.’
Straight-talking is in the genes. When Cox was called up to the Test squad against Sri Lanka in the summer of 2024, he told Sky Sports about his move to Essex: ‘For a couple of years at Kent, I’ve got to 30 or 40 and got quite bored.’
Walker laughs. ‘That quote went down really well with the lads,’ he says.
‘There were a couple of things he said – another was it’ll be a nice change not to have to field for 130 overs.
‘Jordan, bless him – maybe sometimes words come out without necessarily overthinking how it’s going to sound. Perhaps he didn’t feel he was batting in a winning cause that often, and he wanted to challenge for silverware with Essex.’
The runs have come thick and fast. At Kent, his first-class average was 34, with four hundreds in 70 innings. At Essex, he has doubled his average to 68, and reeled off eight hundreds in 28. Last October, he was named Player of the Year by the Professional Cricketers’ Association.
As well as being a wicket-keeper, Cox is very strong in the outfield, as he showed in this T20 final boundary catch for Kent in 2021
Cox has worked hard on his ability against the short ball after being found out against the West Indies
‘He’s one of those players who, whenever the level steps up, rises to it’
And while he will not be dislodging Jamie Smith behind the stumps, his wicketkeeping skills may yet prove a factor as he seeks to take his career to the next level. At 25, there is time on his side.
‘He’s been coached by Bruce French and James Foster, and they said they’ve not seen anyone who’s got as quick hands as Jordan,’ says Stafford. ‘They think he’s exceptional.’
Walker adds: ‘He’s one of those players who, whenever the level steps up, rises to it.’
Cox is itching to go. And one thing is clear. If and when he gets the chance, it will not be dull.
