Opener Cook eases England selectors woes with Adelaide ton

ADELAIDE - England team selectors can heave a sigh of relief after incumbent opener Alistair Cook scored century (111 not out) in a tour match against South Australia on Saturday.

The selectors would not have to contemplate installing a makeshift opener to partner in-form captain Andrew Strauss for the Brisbane Test.

“It was great to spend some time in the middle, especially that first innings. To spend two hours out there on that first day and get that tempo and rhythm back into your batting, which you can only get in the middle, [was important],” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Cook, as saying yesterday before the squad flew to Hobart for the match against Australia ‘A’.

The left-hander said his score of 32 on the first day of the match at the Adelaide Oval, in which he was at the crease for more than two hours but fell in the second over of the middle session, had served two functions: improving his batting rhythm after an extended break from competitive matches and also giving him a reminder of the discipline required for him to prosper.

Cook said the option to send the team’s first-choice bowlers - Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Finn and Graeme Swann - to Brisbane once the Australia ‘A’ match begins in Hobart on Wednesday would depend on how they felt after the Redbacks match. (ANI)