Jordan Cox is poised to make his Test debut as England’s wicketkeeper during their upcoming tour of New Zealand. This opportunity arises as Jamie Smith is set to miss part of the series due to paternity leave. Cox, who will turn 24 on Monday as per ESPNcricinfo, has been England’s reserve batter for the last five Tests and now has the chance to make his mark in December. Smith and his partner are expecting their first child in mid-December, coinciding with either the second or third Test against New Zealand.

“Being at the birth of my son is not something I want to miss,” he told the Daily Mail recently, as per quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“It will be a memory that I cherish more than any in cricket anyway, so if I lost my place because of it, so be it,” he added.

Cox made his international debut in England’s T20I series against Australia last month and will soon join the squads for their upcoming white-ball tour to the Caribbean. Although he was unable to keep wicket for Essex this summer due to a severe finger injury sustained in the Hundred last year, he has been refining his wicketkeeping skills with Brendon McCullum in Pakistan.

“It’s life, right?” McCullum, who is the head coach of the England Cricket team said of Smith’s absence.

“People have kids and we wish them all the best, to be there and support their partners. At this stage, it looks like Jamie will probably play the first [Test in New Zealand] and may miss the next two. We’re not totally sure – it’s up to Mother Nature a little – but we know we’ve got Jordan Cox in the squad here,” McCullum said, as per quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

England is confident in Cox’s abilities, despite his limited recent experience behind the stumps, a belief reinforced by Smith’s own selection earlier this summer while being second-choice at Surrey. McCullum, drawing from his own experience, considers New Zealand to be a comfortable place for wicketkeeping and is eager to evaluate Cox’s performance at the Test level. McCullum describes Cox’s glovework as “solid.”

Cox, known for his self-assured nature, admitted that he would get “bored” after reaching 40 runs while playing for a struggling Kent side last year. Seeking a change to reignite his passion for four-day cricket, he moved to Essex, where he scored four centuries and averaged 65.57 in his first County Championship season.

He took over the No. 4 spot at Essex, vacated by Dan Lawrence’s move to Surrey. Lawrence’s own recent experiences underscore the challenges of being England’s spare batter. After performing well in the Caribbean in March 2022, Lawrence waited over two years for another opportunity in the middle order, only to be placed as an opener with predictable results. Consequently, Cox has now moved ahead of Lawrence in the selection order.

Unless England loses a batter to injury or illness before Thursday’s third Test in Rawalpindi, Cox will be added to the white-ball squads and travel to the Caribbean, likely alongside Rehan Ahmed. Marcus Trescothick, serving as interim white-ball coach for the three ODIs and five T20Is against the West Indies, has already departed Pakistan in preparation for that tour.

Cox is expected to make his ODI debut during the Caribbean series, providing him with an opportunity to stake a late claim for a spot in England’s squad for next year’s Champions Trophy. However, it is the prospect of a Test debut later this year that could truly satisfy his ambitions and validate the extensive travel he will undertake in the first half of the English winter.

“He’s annoyingly good at everything he does – particularly on the golf course,” McCullum said.

“He’s one of those guys that you look at and say he’s got a high ceiling in terms of talent, particularly with bat in hand. There’s a fair chance that he’ll get the opportunity in New Zealand, if Jamie does return home, to bat down the order and take the gloves,” he noted.

England vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test Day 4 Highlights© AFP

Jamie Smith on Day 2 of the first Test match between England and Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.© AFP

Jamie Smith‘s latest Test fifty took England into a narrow first-innings lead in their series opener against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford on Thursday. England were 259-6 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 236, a slender advantage of 23 runs, when a combination of bad light and rain forced an early close to the second day of the three-Test series. Smith, promoted up the order to No 6 in the absence of injured captain Ben Stokes, was 72 not out — the 24-year-old wicketkeeper’s third fifty in his four Tests.

Once again he demonstrated his ability to both support an established batsman and keep the runs coming batting with the lower order.

Together with Harry Brook (56) and Chris Woakes (25), Smith shared stands of 62 and 52 respectively before both batsmen were bowled by superb deliveries from left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, who enjoyed an economical return of 2-58 in 21 overs.

After rain washed out Thursday’s morning session, England were faltering at 67-3 in the 15th over, with paceman Asitha Fernando leading the way during a haul of 3-68 in 14 overs.

Sri Lanka had collapsed to 6-3, losing their first three wickets for no runs in 10 balls on Wednesday.

But their bowlers still had runs to play after captain Dhananjaya de Silva top-scored with 74 after winning the toss, while Milan Rathnayake made 72 as he set a new record for the highest score by any Test debutant batting at No 9.

Shortly after play resumed Thursday under grey skies, Asitha Fernando thought he had Dan Lawrence lbw for 10.

But Lawrence, recalled to open after Zak Crawley was sidelined with a broken finger, successfully reviewed umpire Paul Reiffel’s decision on height.

Two balls later, however, the paceman’s inswinger to Ben Duckett, who added just five to his overnight 13, had the left-hander leg before with Sri Lanka overturning Reiffel’s original not out verdict on this occasion.

Pope bowled

Asitha Fernando’s day got even better when he dismissed Ollie Pope, captaining England for the first time after Stokes was ruled out by a torn hamstring, for six with a ball that nipped back through a gap between bat and pad.

Lawrence, however, looked in good touch until on 30 he edged a ball angled across him from left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando to diving wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal.

Pope’s exit, however, had brought in Root, with the former England captain boasting a superb record against Sri Lanka of more than a 1,000 runs, including four hundreds, in 11 previous Tests at an average of nearly 60.

Asitha Fernando, though, ended a promising stand of 58 when Root, who had made a typically elegant 42, inside-edged an intended drive, with Chandimal diving forward to hold a fine low catch.

But new batsman Smith confidently advanced down the pitch to drive Jayasuriya for six before Brook completed a 59-ball fifty.

But on the same ground where Shane Warne bowled Mike Gatting with the ‘Ball of the Century’ in 1993, Jayasuriya made a bid for the modern-day equivalent by snaring Brook in stunning style.

The 25-year-old rising star had added just three runs to his tea score of 53 not out when he was turned inside out by a ball from left-armer Jayasuriya that dipped in on the line of middle and leg stumps before spinning sharply and bouncing to clip the top of off stump.

Brook’s exit left England 187-5 and Woakes fell in similar fashion when clean bowled by a quicker Jayasuriya delivery that angled in and spun significantly away from the right-hander.