Worcestershire wicketkeeper Ben Cox: I will always owe Steve Rhodes a debt of thanks

Black Country-born Cox is in his testimonial year at New Road and set to return to senior action in the Vitality Blast this week, the competition which provided him with his greatest day to date as a cricketer.

He won the man-of-the-match awards for his batting displays in the semi-final and final as the Rapids lifted the trophy for the first time in 2018.

Cox has always taken a huge pride in his levels of fitness and maintaining high levels of performance and says Rhodes, ex-director of cricket at New Road, had a major role to play in his development.

He said: “I was very lucky having ‘Bumpy’ (Rhodes) in those early years, being able to develop, learn, grow, and he ultimately drove my standards, keep wanting to improve.

“Bumpy was so good at recognising an important catch, an important moment, and he’d give you a pat on the backside and that was so important. He would pump your tyres that way.

“It was him who got me into the habit of recording all my catches against my drops and last year I was 87.1 per cent in terms of catches caught and stumpings off the number of chances I had.

“He always gave me this scale – if you are 70 per cent, you are an average keeper, if you are 80 per cent you are a good keeper and if you are above 90 per cent, you will be the best.

“I don’t think I’ve been below 80 per cent in a fair few years, since I started recording it which, for me, that is what I go off.

“Statistics don’t record that. I’ve always thought they should because that’s what defines a good keeper against an average keeper and against a great keeper.

“I just hold myself accountable and I keep the log and that was courtesy of Bumpy.”

Wordsley-born Cox was plucked out of school as a 17-year-old to make his Worcestershire debut against Somerset at Taunton in 2009, scoring 61 and having a notable first victim in Marcus Trescothick, stumped off Moeen Ali.

He said: “A testimonial wasn’t on the radar at all when I started out to be honest. I just wanted to be a cricketer for as long as I possibly could.

“I guess one of my proudest achievements is being a loyal servant to Worcestershire and, yes I’ve been contracted for 14-15 years, but I’ve been at the club since I was aged nine in the youth system.

“First and foremost, I am a contracted cricketer, I have to perform, we have to perform as a team and if the two coincide, with the side doing well and the testimonial doing well as a result, then that’s a bonus for me.

“As a primary goal, I’d like us to do well as a side because we are shaping up really nicely. We’ve made good signings and we’ve got a fresh group, a fresh coaching staff, new structure.”

If Cox plays in the Rapids’ Vitality Blast opener against Northamptonshire Steelbacks on Wednesday, it will be his 365th senior game for Worcestershire across all formats in a career where he has clocked up more than 600 dismissals.

He said: “A lot of games and also a lot of warm-ups and practice days! That is partly why I take my fitness so seriously because if I personally can’t keep up with the workload, I’m not going to be as good at my position.

“I take great pride in my fitness and listen to our S&C coaches, and Ross Dewar was brilliant in my younger years, making me resilient, almost making me a more hardened person, which has benefitted my career massively.

“Yes, it is a lot of squatting, a lot of warm-ups, a lot of days in the field, but it’s all been worth it.

“I’ve enjoyed every minute and I do want to do this for as long as I possibly can.”