Jordan Cox says Virat Kohli’s advice will stay with him as he prepares to bat at three for England vs Pakistan
Jordan Cox said advice he received from Virat Kohli will remain with him as he prepares to bat at number three for England in the first Test against Pakistan at Headingley starting on Wednesday this week. The 25-year-old Essex batter has been called into a new-look England side after Jacob Bethell was ruled out with a knee injury.
Cox made his Test debut against New Zealand in June at The Oval after meeting Kohli in London prior to that match. He joined Royal Challengers Bengaluru for the first time this year and, although he did not play a game, said he struck up a relationship with Kohli while in India. Cox was part of a much-changed England side that faced New Zealand following the nightclub incident involving Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson; Stokes subsequently announced his retirement during the third Test in June.
On the advice Kohli gave him, Cox told BBC Sport: "I probably don't want to share all of them, but I just wanted to ask him a few questions. He was saying: 'Enjoy the moment. You only get one debut. Just enjoy it and have fun'." He also quoted Kohli telling him to reward those who had supported him: "Family and friends, everything they have worked hard for, every time they have come to a game to support you, show them something why they have done all that sacrifice for you."
Cox said the guidance from Kohli was something he would hold on to: "I'll keep it forever, I think," and described Kohli as someone he would contact if he needed help: "He's someone that I've looked up to and I've managed to spend what felt like four months with him in India. He's someone that I'll text if I'm ever feeling down or need a bit of help. He's always at the end of the phone." On his Test debut, Cox scored 27 and 25 batting at number seven in a match England lost.
He linked Kohli's support to the disappointment of missing a planned Test debut in New Zealand in 2024 after suffering a broken thumb in the nets. The former Kent man had been due to deputise for Jamie Smith, who was on paternity leave, before the injury, and said at the time he feared he might not play again: "I was three days away from playing my first Test and then got injured, which was just unlucky, a freak incident. There were definitely thoughts of 'I'm never going to play again'." Cox recalled Kohli's response: "There are billions of people who don't even know who I am. The sun will come up in the morning - I don't really care'."
England's coaching and leadership situation has changed since Cox's debut: Brendon McCullum was sacked as Test coach after the New Zealand series, Stephen Fleming will not take up the role until the winter, and Marcus Trescothick is serving as interim coach this week while Joe Root begins his second stint as Test captain. In the squad named for the Pakistan series, Surrey's Dan Lawrence has been recalled to bat at number six and provide off-spin.
Selection and preparation for the Headingley Test have been affected by weather and player availability, with rain forecast in Leeds and England's training hit by indifferent conditions on Monday. The team did not name the XI on Monday in part because frontline seamers Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue were travelling from London after playing in The Hundred final on Sunday; if fit, they could join Jofra Archer and Ollie Robinson in a four-pronged pace attack. Opener Ben Duckett joined the training session later than other squad members after travelling from Lord's.
England have been told Cox will bat at number three in at least the first two Tests of the three-match series against Pakistan, with the first Test starting at Headingley on Wednesday, while the tourists hope captain Babar Azam and Shan Masood are fit after hand and finger injuries respectively.
