Cox shines on Test debut as England build commanding lead over Pakistan at Headingley
Jordan Cox marked his first Test innings for England with a composed 73 at Headingley, one of four half-centurions in a dominant batting display that pushed the hosts to 366 for eight by the close of day two — a first-innings lead of 195 over Pakistan The Guardian.
Rain delayed the start of play in Leeds until 2.45pm, but once the covers came off, England's batters made up for lost time. Harry Brook top-scored with 91, while Joe Root contributed 66 and Dan Lawrence 51, as England turned the screws on a Pakistan side already under pressure after being bowled out for 171 on day one The Guardian.
Cox was filling the No 3 slot — the team's most demanding batting position, facing the new ball at its freshest — in place of the absent Jacob Bethell. The 24-year-old looked at home there until he edged Pakistan's left-arm spinner Ali Usman behind the stumps The Guardian. Usman was Pakistan's standout bowler, returning figures of five for 92 and providing the only sustained resistance to England's accumulation.
Pakistan's first-innings 171 had been built on no such foundation. Josh Tongue took five for 46 and Ollie Robinson five for 51 — the pair sharing all ten wickets — to expose a fragile batting order ESPNcricinfo. By the time Root and Cox were guiding England to 112 for two on the evening of day one, the visitors were already scrambling BBC Sport.
There was something in the surface for the spinners, too. England recorded 3.6 degrees of turn on day two — the most seen on a second day at this venue since 2017 BBC Sport. That figure will interest both camps, given Pakistan have Ali Usman already among the wickets and England's own spinners have yet to bowl.
At stumps, Jamie Smith was unbeaten on 16 from 35 balls, with Jofra Archer yet to score at the other end BBC Sport. England will want every run they can add on day three, knowing a lead beyond 200 on a pitch already turning could make Pakistan's second innings deeply uncomfortable.
Away from the match itself, England suffered a blow before play resumed. Sam Curran, who had been namechecked by national selector Marcus North as an option to balance the XI in the post-Ben Stokes era, was ruled out of the remainder of the English summer with a groin injury The Guardian. Curran is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday and will miss the third Test against Pakistan, starting 9 September at Edgbaston, as well as the white-ball series against Sri Lanka later that month.
It is a frustrating setback for the 27-year-old, who made his Test debut against Pakistan as a 19-year-old in 2018 but has not played Test cricket since August 2021 The Guardian. For now, though, the story at Headingley belongs to Cox — a debutant who walked into the pivotal No 3 role and played as though he had always belonged there.
