South Africa vs England: Alastair Cook delighted with potential shown in first Test win

The England captain is pleased with the progress his team has made over the last year

England captain Alastair Cook celebrates with Steven Finn (Getty Images)

No sooner was the ink dry on the winners’ cheque than Alastair Cook, the England captain, was asked yesterday if he was leading a special team. It is the way of the modern sporting world but Cook – six wins and six losses this year now – saw it coming.

“There’s nothing like getting carried away after a win, is there?” he replied with an exclamation mark attached after his side’s victory by 241 runs in the first Test. “Potentially this team can do some really good things, there’s so much talent in this side.

“I think you’re starting to see that in the one-dayers and the T20s, there are a good 20 players starting to form the nucleus of the new England squad. It’s really encouraging but let’s not get too carried away, to get there it’s relentless hard work and good results over a long period of time.”

It was the first time that England had won the opening Test of an away series (Bangladesh apart) since beating the same country (AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn were the only survivors from that side) at Port Elizabeth in 2004. England went on to win that series 2-1 but lost at Newlands, where the next Test starts on Saturday.

“Over the last eight months or so the guys have taken big strides forward as a side,” Cook added. “We didn’t quite get our rewards in Abu Dhabi and we did today. Over the five days we got the rub of the green and played really well.

“It’s a good side to captain. We feel balanced, the guys feel particularly happy and really hungry to push on. You see the guys training – from one to 17 in this squad – and think, ‘There’s good times ahead’.

“They’re very talented to start with and hungry to do well. Playing for England means so much to the guys and it’s such a fantastic thing to be able to do and say. The guys know what’s out there for them if they’re prepared to work hard.”

Having regained the Ashes and now beaten South Africa, who not too long ago were miles ahead in the world rankings, England are clearly making progress. But Cook was right to counsel caution. Until they start winning Tests away from home regularly and stringing a sequence of good results together, they will languish behind others.

The match at Newlands is significant for those reasons alone (as well, of course, in its own right). If England could somehow assemble a win in Cape Town for the first time in nearly 60 years, that would be something. Their primary task before the match will be to determine the fitness of Jimmy Anderson and whether to play him.

Cook said: “I think we’re hopeful. It’s the ask of how many overs he’s bowled so far on tour and can not only get through but also do himself justice. It’s a big ask, five days of a Test match, so we’ll have to make that decision in the next 48 hours.”

England, it seems, may yet err on the side of caution.

“It’s a really short turnaround now – the shortest I’ve ever done,” said Cook. “So we’ve got to be careful with the recovery over the next few days – it’s important. It would be great to get our noses ahead again in that game but it starts level again in Cape Town.”

South Africa fear their team have reached a crossroads. Despite still having three or four outstanding players of their generation, they are unsure of the appropriate balance of the side and who should be doing what in it. They have to decide quickly whether it is sensible to continue to pick makeshift openers and ask De Villiers to keep wicket as well as carry the batting. Questions abound in the country about De Villiers and his possible retirement (denied), the form of the captain, Hashim Amla, and the injury to fast bowler Steyn, which may keep him out of the next match.

“There is a lot that went wrong in this game,” said their coach, Russell Domingo. “There are a lot of questions about the batting line-up, AB’s retirement and Dale’s injury, so there is a lot going on.

“I think the important thing for our team is to stay a tight unit and keep the noise out if you possibly can. There will be a lot of comments on Twitter and Facebook but we have to keep that noise out and believing in what the team is capable of will be the most important thing. We know what this team is capable of.”

They have to show it quickly.