It seems that England is going to play in the final Test at Oval with an unchanged side from the fourth Ashes Test as the spearhead pacer James Anderson is not fully fit yet to be a part of the team. At the pre-match conference, Cook said – “Unfortunately he’s not going to make it. He’s gutted about it. He’s made really good progress from where he was at Edgbaston but this is a week or so too soon. He bowled in the nets yesterday but at about 60-70 per cent and that’s not how you go into a game. He’s really gutted. The medical team has been brilliant with him but he’s still about a week away.”
Due to Anderson’s absence, Mark Wood is going to retain his place in the side for the penultimate Test. Cook’s lads are triumphed by their pompous show of strength on the field and feel that a 4-1 victory will help to forget the whitewash in Australia. Cook said, “We have to make sure we play the way we want to play, our attitude is right and the guys are playing to their strengths and playing the way they want to play. That is important.”
Cook also discussed about how a more positive approach helped his side to neutralize Mitchell Johnson’s impact. He said, “We’ve played him a bit better. On the whole, we’ve played all their bowlers pretty well — and we’ve scored at a good rate. They haven’t managed to tie us down as well as we’ve managed to do with them.”
Talking about Clarke’s career end, Cook commented, “Hopefully, not half-volleys. Michael has been a wonderful cricketer for Australia and, hopefully, he’ll be remembered for all the right reasons. Australia will miss a mighty fine batsman and a very good captain.”
