It is less than two years since Jordan Cox had to call his dad abruptly and tell him not to get on a plane to New Zealand to see his Test debut, after suffering a broken thumb in the nets. Now, with Cox having finally made his Test bow in chaotic circumstances earlier this summer, he is hoping to focus less on the event and more on his role in the side - and this time, he won't have to worry about arrangements for his family, who will be watching on from home.
Cox will win his second cap in the first Test against Pakistan at Headingley this week and - barring unforeseen circumstances (more on those later) - will bat at No. 3. It is something of a full-circle moment, with Cox coming in for the injured Jacob Bethell, whose own debut came about due to Cox's mishap in Queenstown.
Instead, Cox's introduction to Test cricket came at The Oval in June as one of five changes to the XI that had beaten New Zealand at Lord's. Cox, batting at No. 7, was ostensibly replacing the captain, Ben Stokes, who had been stood down by the ECB while investigations into Stokes' and Gus Atkinson's infamous "breach of team protocols" were ongoing. It was nevertheless a moment to treasure for the Cox family, who were present on the outfield as Jordan was handed his cap by Nasser Hussain
"Making your debut for England in any format is amazing for you personally but also for your family," Cox said. "That day felt more - for me personally - about them. This is what your mum and dad worked so hard for, taking you to games, taking you every Saturday, every Sunday, so that was like giving back to them. So it'll be nice for this Test match, I don't think they're even coming, they'll just watch it on TV. It'll be nice to hopefully think about it myself and really work hard to achieve something that I want to achieve, which is winning Test matches for England."
Cox has had several false starts with England. He toured Pakistan without being selected in 2022, suffered a broken finger in 2023 (in addition to the thumb the following winter), and a side strain that ruled him out of involvement in last summer's Zimbabwe Test.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, he is happy to play wherever England ask him to. Cox was informed by Marcus North, the national selector, that he would be batting at No. 3 when the squad was announced midway through the Hundred - he has batted there once for Kent, alongside opening in 18 first-class games - and has resolved to enjoy the experience at Headingley and Lord's (England have yet to confirm their squad for the third Test) come what may.
"This will be fun. Northy called me and was just saying, before one of the Hundred games, 'I'm going to give you clarity, you're going to bat three for the two Test matches. Have fun, do what you've been doing, don't change the way you've been playing county cricket. Go and have fun, go and embrace the challenge.' That's what I'm looking to do. I've opened for probably two years in county cricket for Kent. So it'll be fun, I'm looking forward to it."
His return comes with England forced into a sudden change of tack by Stokes' retirement. Joe Root, Cox's Welsh Fire team-mate in the Hundred, will resume the captaincy full-time (having done it on an interim basis at The Oval) ahead of the arrival of Stephen Fleming as the team's new head coach. Success for Cox could give the regime its first headache, with Bethell rehabilitating from a knee injury but otherwise established in the Test team after his 154 in Sydney at the start of the year.
Cox did not get any advance notice from Root, however, despite sharing a changing room: "We played in the [Fire] game that lunchtime and Joe was like, 'I was itching to tell you but I couldn't until after the game.' So he called and said 'Have you had any news today?' Yep, just been told.
"I've been with him for three-and-a-half weeks now in the Hundred, and we've got on really well, got to know Joe on a different level. It's weird coming into this environment, being in and out all of the time, to get to really know people… but to have a good three weeks with Joe, to pick him off when we're batting in the nets to talk about cricket and life in general, has been awesome."
One regular topic of discussion has been the short turnaround, with only two days between the Hundred final at the start of the Headingley Test - although, in the end, Welsh Fire's elimination at the group stage meant both Cox and Root, as well as fast bowler Sam Cook, had more preparation time.
"My game, it obviously changes but your technique stays pretty similar. Hundred-ball cricket is an incredible format, it's great for families, people to come and enjoy a fast-paced cricket game. But like I've said, Test cricket is the pinnacle and you always have that in the back of your mind, if you've ever got a sniff of playing that you're thinking around, okay, when can I do extra. I can hit with the boys for two hours, that's normally the timeslot - but no one is stopping you from going to hit red balls for an hour, two hours in the nets with the coach."
One thing that did stop England on Monday was the weather, as drought-breaking rainfall curtailed their middle practice during the afternoon. The management were waiting to find out about the readiness of Ben Duckett, Josh Tongue and Atkinson, all of whom were involved in the Hundred final at Lord's. The trio arrived in Leeds on Monday, but did not take part in training.