Before to the SL Tests, Jordan Cox was determined to get match practice and said, “I’m more than happy to play with a bit of pain.”

Jordan Cox, the Essex wicketkeeper-batter who was forced to leave the pitch due to abdominal cramps during the County Championship match against Surrey on 30 June, underwent appendix surgery. He was recently chosen to replace Test regular Zak Crawley, who will be sidelined with a fractured finger.

Cox returned to cricket quickly with the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred 2024, even though the surgeon had advised an 8–12 week layoff for full recuperation following appendix surgery. Even though he admitted he wasn’t fully fit, he was happy to be participating in the sport he loves, despite some discomfort.

While speaking to BBC Essex Sport, Cox said, “I’m still not 100% but now I know I’m not going to do any further damage to my body, I’m more than happy to play with a bit of pain,” as revealed by BBC Sport.

It felt fantastic to get the call in red-ball: X Jordan Cox

Cox also recounted a funny incident in which he was going about his day informally when he saw that England’s red-ball coach, Brendon McCullum, had missed a call. He was then told by McCullum that he was included in the Test team for the next three-match series against Pakistan.

When I had a missed call, I was at Battersea Park. I simply left it since I felt like it was someone attempting to sell me something. Then, “Give me a call back, it’s Baz,” was the text message that Baz sent me. Cox said, “I called back pretty quickly, hoping he didn’t pick someone else instead of me.”

Cox has an outstanding domestic red-ball record, scoring 3,039 runs in 82 innings, but it was his better T20 record that made him expect a call-up to the white-ball side before the red-ball team. The possibility to join the Test squad materialised first, which was surprisingly the opposite of what happened.

Also Read: Ricky Ponting declares he has no interest in coaching white-ball for England: “I wouldn’t ever consider doing that.”

“Getting the call in the red-ball setup is incredible because I’ve always felt like I was a little bit closer to the white-ball side than anything else. I didn’t believe that whatever I did this year would matter. Since there are so many talented young players available, I reasoned that I would have to stick with it for a few years and then start breaking down doors,” Cox continued. August 21 is when the series against Sri Lanka is slated to begin, with the first Test taking place at Old Trafford.