Jordan Cox unleashes a special brand of boundary hitting in UAE T20 League
It was a perfect blend of calm and chaos in the premier UAE T20 League where Jordan Cox dished out an absolute masterclass of perfect T20 batting, hammering a match-winnings innings for the Dubai team while also seizing the spot for the leading run-scorer of the tournament for now.
The English hard-hitter has been in menacing touch in the tournament, smashing scores of 31, 52, 29, 49*, 46, 28 and 61*. His latest innings was built on almost meditative temperament, keeping Dubai in the game after an early wobble in the innings.
Cox started on a slow note, waiting for the right moment to capitalize upon. Once the timing was right and his team needed him to deliver big, Cox had no inhibitions whatsoever. He channeled his inner beast, unleashing an absolute beatdown on the Sharjah bowlers.
In the last 12 balls, Dubai needed 21 runs to win with Cox on strike. Until then he was batting on 43 off 44, navigating warily through the treacherous cross-currents of what was a tricky surface. However, with the growing panic and a chasm opening up between the balls remaining and the numbers of runs required, Cox knew that he had to switch gears, especially with Rovman Powell being fairly new at the other end.
Tim Southee was the man shouldered with the task of keeping Jordan in check. The first ball of the 19th over was slightly shorter from Southee and Cox immediately switched to his backfoot, thumping it over extra-cover to reduce the equation to 17 off 11. Southee kept the length almost similar for the next ball and just dropped it slower as Cox reacted perfectly to the ball, going back and hammering it through cover point.
Southee’s inclination of bowling slow didn’t really earn him the accolades that he was looking forward to. Cox soon garnered a hattrick of fours as he smashed Southee’s off-cutter over mid-off to wrest control for Dubai. Southee, all frazzled, went for the short ball again and Cox simply pulled him over mid-on, leaving the Kiwi pace ace in absolute tatters.
That over was simply a testimony to what Jordan Cox is capable of, especially when the situation turns into a simmering pressure-cooker. With 298 runs, Cox shot up to the top of the run-scoring charts, leapfrogging the likes of Shayan Jahangir and Muhammad Waseem. Jordan’s consistency is another reason why we simply cannot wait to see the English striker in action for RCB.
