<p class="x_x_x_news-body"><strong><span>Alastair Cook urges his side to raise their game – Cricket News Update</span></strong></p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body"><span>Alastair Cook, the England captain, is extremely disappointed after a poor performance against South Africa in the second of the five-match One Day International (ODI) series at Southampton but urged his team to raise their
game and challenge the Proteas in the remainder of the battle.</span></p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body"><span>The visitors outclassed the Poms in all departments of the game to clinch an 80-run victory and go 1-0 up in the series. The first ODI at Cardiff was abandoned due to rain. The South African’s are continuing with their brilliant
form after smashing England in the Test series earlier this month.</span></p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body"><span>AB de Villiers won the toss and elected to bat first on a classic batting pitch and posted a massive total of 287 runs on the board for the loss of five wickets, thanks to an unbelievable 150 by Hashim Amla.</span></p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body"><span>Having lost their number one ranking in Test cricket to the Proteas, England slipped down the rankings in ODIs as well after yesterday’s loss.</span></p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body"><span>Speaking during the presentation ceremony after the match, Cook admitted that his team failed to compete against a much stronger visiting side. The left-handed opener however, was all praise for Amla, who took the game away
from the home team.</span></p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body"><span>"We just didn't play very well, in all three aspects. All credit to the way Amla played, his innings showed us how to play. When we batted we were up with the run rate but we never got our partnerships going," he said.</span></p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body"><span>The England skipper maintains that his batsmen should have put up a better show on flat batting conditions. However, he wants his team to forget about the defeat and concentrate on matching South Africa’s brilliance in the remaining
three encounters of the series. </span></p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body"><span>"We thought it was gettable but we needed someone to stay in and get big runs. It hasn't happened today and it's frustrating but we've got three games to come. They're playing some good cricket, we've got to look within ourselves
to do it, players have got to stand up and be counted to turn it around,"</span> the left-handed opener added.</p>
Tags: