Cox to leave England Lions tour early after lucrative ILT20 contract

Jordan Cox, the newly-crowned PCA men's player of the year, will leave England Lions' tour to Australia early to take up a lucrative contract with Dubai Capitals in the ILT20.

Cox missed out on selection for England's 16-man Ashes squad after they deemed Ollie Pope to be sufficient wicketkeeping cover for Jamie Smith. He will have a chance to impress Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes first-hand when playing for the Lions in England's only warm-up fixture but, barring an injury, will arrive in Dubai before the ILT20 starts on December 2.

"We have got an agreement," Cox said at last week's Toyota PCA Awards. "I won't be at the Lions as long as people think. I will be there for the first game, maybe the second. It's mainly to help the England boys get ready for the Test matches, which is the most important thing. When they don't need me, they will flick me off to Dubai."

The Capitals signed Cox as a replacement player before the ILT20's recent auction and he is understood to be one of the league's highest earners, with a contract worth around US$250,000. His exact itinerary is yet to be confirmed, but he is expected to leave the Lions tour before they play Australia A in Brisbane on December 5.

After missing out on a Test debut there last winter with an ill-timed thumb injury, Cox is back in New Zealand with England's T20I squad ahead of the start of the series on Saturday. He capped an excellent summer for Essex and Oval Invincibles with a maiden international half-century in Ireland last month, and is anticipating a busy winter.

"There is some England stuff I'd love to be a part of," he said, "but if not, there's a few franchise competitions and I'll have some fun. My aim is to play Test cricket, but I wouldn't wish an injury on anyone. If I get a chance, it would be awesome.

"It will be nice to show Stokes, Baz and Keysy [Rob Key]. They haven't watched me live much in red-ball [cricket]. They have come to Hundred or T20 games, but I don't imagine they are coming to much four-day cricket. Maybe they will see something different that they like - or not - and I'd like to show them [what I can do] in the flesh. That would be really good.

"I was close to a Test call-up but hopefully I will get closer. It will be nice to be on the Lions and try to score a few runs against the England bowlers to show them I'm capable… You always notice more outside of the nets: do they mingle well with the group? Are they polite, well-mannered? All that sort of stuff you need to be if you want to be an England player."

Meanwhile, Brydon Carse - who, like Cox, has arrived in New Zealand ahead of Saturday's first T20I - has revealed that he has stockpiled specially modified bowling boots ahead of this winter's tours. Carse struggled with an infected toe last winter and churned through pairs of spikes this summer as he tried to avoid cutting it back open.

Carse said he had "absolutely no problems" with his toe this summer, and said that his sponsors have been an "unbelievable" help. "They've kitted me out with enough pairs of boots to go away," he said. "They've started cutting holes into my boot for me, specifically made for me, which has been a massive help.

"I've got a little hole in the second toe [area of the boot]... During that India Test series, I struggled in the first couple of games. I probably went through five or six pairs during the first two Tests. New Balance have been really supportive with me. As long as they keep churning out pairs of boots, I'll be happy."

Carse spent two weeks training at Loughborough before travelling and said that Stokes and Mark Wood are progressing well in their recovery from injuries: "Ben is looking near enough 100% fit, and so is Mark. It's exciting to see where they have got to after their setbacks during the summer. They will be raring to go come Australia time."