It will be a challenge to beat South Africa: Alastair Cook

England skipper Alastair Cook is still low after the Test series defeat on the hands of Pakistan but believes his side are equipped to bounce back against the world’s number one team at their home turf.

As he prepares to fly out with his team to South Africa on Thursday, Cook, who has never won a Test series against the Proteas in his illustrious career, described just how important a victory could be.

“Reflecting back to Pakistan, there’s something inside me saying we had an opportunity we couldn’t quite take. I wonder if this is an opportunity I can take,” Cook added, musing on the recent defeat in the United Arab Emirates.

“Losing 2-0 in the series hurts me quite a lot because I didn’t think we were that far off. The result didn’t seem a fair reflection of the tour. We definitely now have an opportunity.”

Cook believes that the South African team is going through a transition phase, the 3-0 defeat against India must have shaken the confidence of the Proteas he believes.

“It’s one side I haven’t actually beaten in a series. They’ve had a bit of change,” he said. “When you lose greats of the game — Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, (Makhaya) Ntini, (Mark) Boucher, there’s always going to be a bit of evolution in a side and trying to replace them is nigh on impossible, especially in one generation.” he added.