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When Jordan Cox was 19, playing in his fifth first-class match and unbeaten overnight on 167 for Kent against Sussex, he decided to set himself a new task. Cox told Sam Billings, his captain and an England international, that he would go past Billings’ first-class best of 171. The top scores of other teammates were in sight, too. “I was just ticking people off,” Cox said a few weeks later. “Having a higher score than Sam Billings and Joe Denly at 19, that’s what got me going.” Denly, an England No 3, had a best of 227. Cox finished on 238 not out.

Six years on, that confidence and bit of swagger made its way to Leeds, with Cox resuming on 23 after England’s near-perfect Wednesday. There were no visible nerves, no rollerskates on the feet. A few gentle taps of the ground, a small shift on to the back foot and then plenty of time before he presented the middle. He looked on holiday while batting in only his second Test, and that too with the esponsibility of building a first-innings lead at first-drop. Joe Root, 167 Tests in, was at the other end and Cox did not look out of place alongside his captain. The pair have done a bit of this now. Just last week they were decked out in red, trying to launch it together in the Hundred. Strong Welsh Fire, strong England?

A first international ton was on. He wasn’t going to be rushed by any of Pakistan’s seamers, with no one in the visiting attack capable of testing his ability against the bouncer. When Khurram Shahzad went short against Cox, the ball came out wide at 76mph, the lack of fizz possibly catching the right-hander off guard: a half-hearted baseball swing offered the bowler a return catch he couldn’t take. A near-identical delivery immediately followed, with Cox quickly learning his lesson to nail the pull for four. There wasn’t much of a celebration when he reached 50, suggesting this was not what he had come for.

Ali Usman and some left-arm spin brought about Cox’s demise on 73, a prod off the back foot producing an outside edge. He’ll have to wait a little longer for that landmark moment – but Cox has become accustomed to sitting tight. The 25-year-old has been one of the best batters in the country for a while but made his Test bow only in June. He should have made his debut in late 2024 against New Zealand, when he was going to take the gloves, but broken thumb in the buildup cost him.

When Cox played at the Oval two months ago, he was left out for the next Test at Trent Bridge. Despite his pyrotechnics in the Hundred, he has played only a handful of white-ball internationals for England.

He may have to play the waiting game after this series, too. Cox is a fill-in for the injured Jacob Bethell, the golden boy of the English game. The Essex man is more of a No 4 or No 5, capable of playing a soothing tune – like he did here – but also blitzing it when the moment requires. So his major problem is obvious, with those two spots occupied by the two non-negotiables in this England side, Root and Harry Brook. “If you’ve got the No 1 and 2 Test batsmen in the world, I can’t imagine I’m going to squeeze them apart,” said Cox last year, acknowledging the challenge of finding a middle-order role.

Instead, Cox has made it clear he’ll do a job anywhere. Open? Sure, he did a bit of that at Kent. Bat at seven without the gloves? That’s what was asked of him on his debut. Keep? He very nearly did when Jamie Smith was on paternity leave. He could really sparkle at six but Dan Lawrence, with the benefit of his off-breaks, took that role on Thursday, marking his return to the XI with a half-century of his own. For this Test and the next Cox has the privilege of No 3. The roles are everchanging but the swagger remains.