Cox and Crawley were amongst the top three highest run-scorers in The Hundred 2025.
Despite their performance in recent ICC tournaments, England will head into the T20 World Cup 2026 as one of the favourites. They last won the title in 2022 in Australia when the Jos Buttler-led side defeated India and Pakistan in the knockouts. Their batting line-up isn’t set in stone yet, barring a couple of spots. The new white-ball captain, Harry Brook, recently talked about Zak Crawley and Jordan Cox being in contention after their impressive performance in The Hundred 2025.
The upcoming edition of the tournament will take place in India and Sri Lanka early next year. England will have a few questions to deal with in the lead-up to the event.
Speaking on Saturday, Brook acknowledged what Crawley and Cox have done in the recent competition. Crawley, a regular feature in the England Test side, hasn’t had a consistent run in white-ball cricket to display his talent. He got to play the entirety of The Hundred 2025 this time around and was the best opening batter.
The Northern Superchargers batter was the third-highest run-getter in the competition. He made 280 runs at an average of 40 while striking at 160.
“Everybody’s in the mix: whoever does well. He [Crawley] obviously has the attributes that we’re talking about: putting pressure on the bowlers with their good and bad balls; he can manipulate the field really well; he’s good against fast bowling and he’s good against spin,” said Brook.
As for Jordan Cox, he has been on the fringes but has had the opportunity to play only three ODIs and two T20Is. He has made a strong case for himself with The Hundred exploits. Cox finished as the top run-getter in the tournament with 367 runs at an average of 61 and a strike rate of 173.93.
FOUR SIXES IN FIVE BALLS 🤯
— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 16, 2025
Jordan Cox, that is sensational 🤩#TheHundred pic.twitter.com/xiWDnXpaf8
“Everybody’s been talking about Jordan Cox: he’s obviously an unbelievable player, alongside Creeps. You’ve just got to keep on doing it, and be as consistent as you can for a long period of time… It’s good to have competition,” Brook added.
ALSO READ:
England’s batting line-up for the T20 World Cup is far from finalised. Looking at their current situation, there could be multiple spots up for grabs, except for Jos Buttler and Brook.
They have Ben Duckett, Phil Salt, and Jamie Smith vying for the opening spot. Duckett seems to be the first-choice opener with tense competition for the other spot. That’s where things get interesting.
Salt had an average campaign in The Hundred, averaging 25 and striking at 132. Smith had a better season as he averaged 29 and struck at 170. If both of them fail to deliver in the lead-up to the next year’s tournament, it could open the doors for Crawley and Cox.
Crawley could be the front-runner in that case due to his ability against spin. He was one of their best batters on the Test tour of India last year. He was able to deal with Indian spinners on some tough pitches.
With the T20 World Cup 2026 to be played in India and Sri Lanka, the ability against spin will be one of the most important attributes for a batter.
Cox was awarded a call-up to the T20I series against Ireland later this month. England Test stars, including Duckett, Smith, and Brook, will miss that series, which gives them a chance to try out a few other players. Cox should get a couple of games there.
However, it looks difficult for both Crawley and Cox to break into the first-choice England side for the T20 World Cup 2026. They would need two of three openers to fail miserably in the upcoming assignments, starting with three T20Is against South Africa.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
