LONDON: England captain Alastair Cook said he was looking forward to the challenge of facing Pakistan following his side’s commanding Test series win over Sri Lanka.
Rain meant only 12.2 overs were possible at Lord’s on Monday as the third Test ended in a draw.
But although denied a whitewash, England had already done enough to secure a 2-0 series win after dominant victories by an innings and 88 runs and nine wickets over the Lankans at Leeds and Chester-le-Street respectively.
England now hold Test series trophies against every other major international side except Pakistan, who beat Cook’s men 2-1 in a three-match series in the United Arab Emirates in November last year.
However, they will have a chance to put that right when they face Pakistan in a four-Test series starting at Lord’s on July 14.
“They’ve got a very good (pace) attack, backed up with spinners,” Cook said of Pakistan.
“We’re ready for them. We scored a lot of runs against Australia’s attack here last year — I think it’s going to be a brilliant series.”
While Test specialist Cook prepares for Pakistan, wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow will be looking to take his red-ball form into the intervening five one-day internationals against Sri Lanka.
Bairstow’s recall into England’s one-day squad was announced just as he was being confirmed as both man-of-the-match at Lord’s and the hosts’ overall man of the Test series too.
His 167 not out in the first innings at Lord’s was his Test-best score and came amidst a series scoring-spree that saw Bairstow total 387 runs at an average of 129, with the Yorkshireman also holding 19 catches behind the stumps.
Together with James Anderson, who took 21 wickets at a stunningly low average of 10.80, Bairstow was the central figure of the series.
Bairstow repeatedly helped England recover from top-order collapses against Sri Lanka and Cook likened his contribution to that of retired former England wicket-keeper Matt Prior.
“He’s very similar to Matt Prior… when he was at his best, we could often be 100 for five and he’d change the momentum,” explained Cook.
