Cox set to cover for Smith on New Zealand tour

Jordan Cox looks set to make his England Test debut on the tour of New Zealand, with Jamie Smith likely to miss part of the series for the birth of his first child.

Essex’s Cox, who turns 24 on Monday, is the back-up wicketkeeper to Smith on the current tour of Pakistan.

England play three Tests in New Zealand in November and December.

"At this stage it looks like Jamie will probably play the first one and may miss the next two," said England head coach Brendon McCullum.

"It's sort of up to Mother Nature a little bit. New Zealand is a comfortable place to keep wicket and it would be great to have a look at Jordan Cox as well."

Surrey keeper Smith, 24, has won eight Test caps since being promoted to England’s first-choice gloveman at the beginning of the home summer. He will be behind the stumps for the series decider against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, beginning on Thursday.

Cox has played two T20 internationals for England and has been the spare batter and keeper in the Test squad since the home series against Sri Lanka in the summer.

He joined Essex from Kent for the 2024 season, but has not kept wicket in first-class cricket since July 2023 partly because of a horrible finger injury sustained playing in The Hundred in August of that year. In all, he has kept in only six first-class matches.

"His keeping is solid," said McCullum, himself a former international wicketkeeper. "I've done a bit of work with him over the last little while.

"He’s actually annoyingly good at everything he does, 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 he'll get the opportunity in New Zealand, if Jamie does return home, to bat down the order and take the gloves."

England are due to name their squad for the New Zealand tour following the final Test in Pakistan.

The Smith situation could call for extra batting cover, though not necessarily another keeper because Ollie Pope has filled in behind the stumps in the past.

Dan Lawrence was tried during the series against Sri Lanka, then dropped for the Pakistan tour.

Ben McKinney, the Durham 20-year-old, is highly rated and would give England a badly needed reserve opener, as would Warwickshire’s Rob Yates. Somerset’s James Rew is an option for the middle-order and behind the stumps. All three have been part of the Lions set-up.

One other change for New Zealand would be the dispensing of Rehan Ahmed, with no need for a third spinner.

An extra seam-bowling spot could go to Josh Hull, who was ruled out of the tour of Pakistan with a quad injury but named in a Lions training party for a trip to South Africa next month. Dillon Pennington was named in Test squads earlier this year, Jamie Overton played one Test in 2022 but been plagued by back injuries since, and Hampshire’s John Turner has a central contract.

England will release two players from the squad in Pakistan to join the white-ball tour of West Indies once the third Test is under way.

Cox is set to be one of those, alongside a bowler. Ahmed and paceman Olly Stone are so far the only bowlers in Pakistan not to have played in the first two Tests, though Stone did return home last weekend to get married.

McCullum said Ahmed could "potentially" come into contention for the final Test if Pakistan prepare another dry surface, like the hosts did for the second Test which they won by 152 runs to level the series.

"We'll have a look around it and come up with our tactics and obviously see what's going to be required to give ourselves the best chance of nabbing the series win," he said.