As the saying doesn’t quite go: strong Welsh Fire, strong England. That may or may not have been the murmuring on the concourses here at Headingley, where they are proud of a similar axiom referencing the home county. But as Joe Root and Jordan Cox amassed their 150-run stand during the first half of a curtailed day two, it was arguably true – whatever your views on the ECB’s premier high-summer white-ball beano.When he strolled into the room to speak to the press on Monday, Cox couldn’t have cut a more relaxed figure. Fresh from an “awesome” month sharing the Fire dressing-room with Root, Cox had travelled north following the conclusion of their side’s involvement in the Hundred with time for a generous three days of red-ball training and ready to trade short-form frivolity for the serious business of another crack at Test cricket.Cox made his debut under Root’s interim captaincy a couple of months ago, in starkly different circumstances, filling Ben Stokes’ spot at No. 7 as the previous Test regime entered its fiery endgame. With words of encouragement from Virat Kohli tucked away behind his ear, he didn’t do too much wrong (barring a dropped catch) with scores of 25 and 27, before disappearing back through the revolving door – another false start in a still-nascent international career littered with them.Then came the change of hierarchy brought about by Stokes’ retirement and, more significantly for Cox, the misfortune of Jacob Bethell injuring his knee during the ODIs against India. Bethell, whose Test debut came as a direct result of Cox breaking a thumb in the nets in 2024, would not be fit for the start of the Pakistan series. Cox, who had only batted at No. 3 previously in a single first-class game for Kent, would fill the spot.Plenty have uttered the line about being happy to bat wherever they’re asked to in return for a Test cap, but with Cox you really believe him. Full of self-belief and determination, Cox has always been ready to grasp an opportunity to get to where he wants to go. “It might sound a bit rogue, but I’d rather play Test cricket than T20 cricket,” he said in March 2024 when, even as he began to establish himself on the franchise circuit, he had pushed through a move from Kent to Essex in order to take his red-ball game on.Likewise his time at the IPL earlier this season, where he struck up a bond with Royal Challengers Bengaluru team-mate Kohli. It was, he said, a chance he couldn’t turn down – though it hampered his immediate Test prospects. He had actually only played one first-class innings this summer before debuting at The Oval, but again made a statement when hammering 204 off 201 balls against Leicestershire. That took his average with Essex to 68.15, with eight hundreds (two of them doubles) in 20 appearances.
And so it wasn’t all that surprising when, in the company of Root once again, Cox cruised through to a maiden Test fifty at Headingley, warmly received on a chilly afternoon that at one point looked like being devoid of cricket. He had been 23 not out overnight, slipstreaming his skipper during a steadying partnership that blossomed into one that put England firmly on top, but soon seized the initiative in the face of a modest Pakistan attack.
Khurram Shahzad, whose first ball of the day was a beauty that as good as sucked in and spat out Root, helped ease Cox into his work with an over of diametrically opposed quality that served up four boundaries all around the dial. When Shahzad came back a little later in the session, switching to the Football Stand End, Cox thrashed him dismissively for another three fours – although only after he should have been caught off a miscued swipe back to the bowler.
The pick of his shots, however, was an on-the-up cover drive against Pakistan’s best bowler, Mohammad Abbas. He had done similar on the first evening, making light of being anchored in his crease by the presence of Mohammad Rizwan up to the stumps and standing tall to time the ball exquisitely back through long-off.
That he couldn’t go on to three figures – the first of four odd-looking dismissals for England’s quartet of half-centurions – was the only source of frustration. Even a hundred might not change the fact that Cox is keeping Bethell’s seat warm. But the fire (Welsh or otherwise) to prove he belongs at this level is crackling nicely.