Alastair Cook was not in particularly good form throughout the Test series against South Africa © Getty Images
London: England captain Alastair Cook has slammed his side’s ‘ limp batting performance’ during the fourth and final Test against South Africa, which ensured that the tourists’ series win ended with a defeat. England batsmen failed to show resolve as they could last only 13.4 overs on the final morning before being bundled out for 101. The tourists lost seven wickets for 49 runs in just over an hour. Cook, who guided England to a 2-1 away series win, admitted that it was disappointing to end the Test leg of the tour with a defeat, adding that there should be no excuses for such a batting display, the Guardian reported. SCORECARD: South Africa vs England 2015-16, 4th Test at Centurion
Reflecting on the stunning batting collapse, the 31-year-old southpaw observed that they have still got to work on a lot of areas in order to reclaim the number one spot in Test rankings. Commenting on the underperforming top-order line-up, Cook also admitted that he, along with Nick Compton, Alex Hales and James Taylor have to perform consistently in their respective counties to cement their spots for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. READ: Alastair Cook: Not the way England wanted to end South Africa tour
Cook also went on to say that England’s batting in the fourth Test was not as good as they were in the first three matches of the series, but admitted that winning a series against the No. 1 ranked side was a huge achievement in itself. “For the whole five days we were not quite as good as we have been for the first three games,” said Cook. “We spoke a lot about how we wanted to finish the tour unbeaten but we just haven’t been good enough in this game.” Cook said the toss had been important, with South Africa batting first on a pitch which deteriorated. “But it doesn’t mask the fact that we weren’t quite at it.”
(With inputs from IANS)