Cook urges England to maintain standards

By Callum Dent 

Alastair Cook believes England have set the benchmark for future one-day international performances following the 41-run victory over India at Headingley.

With the five-match Royal London Series already lost following the tourists’ triumph at Edgbaston on Tuesday, the hosts played with a renewed freedom in Leeds.

Yorkshire batsman Joe Root led the way with the bat after Cook lost the toss, contributing 113 to a commanding total of 294 for seven.

England then applied pressure with the ball to dismiss India for 253 and boost their confidence ahead of a busy winter.

The England captain told ecb.co.uk:“We played nicely. That is the kind of the standard we need to play at and we know that.

“Like I have said when we have been losing, there are some good players in this one-day team, we just haven’t shown it. It’s incredibly frustrating when you do play like that. 

“Joe Root was fantastic. We talked about one of the top four or five going on and getting a really big score. When you do that it makes a massive difference.”

Root continued his stunning summer with the bat with a brilliant 113 off just 108 balls from number four.

The 23-year-old slog-swept a maximum to move to three figures, becoming the first Yorkshire played to record a Test and ODI ton at Headingley in the process.

Cook showered Root in praise for his display, saying: “He played lovely. He has had a great summer with the bat.

“We know what a star he is going to be and what a great attitude he has. It was a good moment for him at Headingley.”

However, Root was quick to play down his role in the victory by insisting his main priority is the team.

The right-hander said: “Things like that are always nice to have. More importantly, you want to win series and trophies.

“Unfortunately, we have not been able to do that on this occasion, but hopefully we can take a lot from this series and learn from some really good cricket that India have played.

“Hopefully that will stand us in good stead going forward.”

Today represented the first time that England had posted a challenging score during the four full matches between the two sides.

Despite losing Alex Hales and Moeen Ali early, Cook’s side built a solid platform courtesy of two fine partnerships.

Cook and Root added 52 for the third wicket before the latter and Jos Buttler piled on 108 in just 13.3 overs.

The captain believes England finally showed what they are capable when runs are on the board.

He said: “When you defend 300 you have always got a chance because any time you get a cluster of wickets it is hard to build momentum.

“We got a wicket in the first over and we were always ahead of the game.

“They are a good bowling attack when they do that. It’s a good step in the right direction.

“Now we have all got to go back to our games and try and make big improvements. If we all make big improvements as a player then that will make a big improvement as a side.”