PRETORIA, (Reuters) – Alastair Cook believes the perfect end to England’s winning series in South Africa would be a strong showing from his under-performing top-order batsmen in the fourth and final test, starting today at Centurion Park. The tourists already have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, but with home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan and trips to Bangladesh and India still to come this year, there are positions to be firmed up, especially at the top of the order.
“A lot of the runs have been scored by Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow. The other guys haven’t quite contributed, myself included,” Cook told reporters yesterday.
“The guys are desperate to shore up their spots so when the meeting comes for the Sri Lankan series, they’ve earned that right. I’m really looking forward to this week to see how people respond to that.”
