Alastair Cook looked ahead on Wednesday (18th May) to first Test between England and Sri Lanka at Headingley.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Alastair Cook, England captain

"We played some really good cricket in patches in South Africa, even the warm up games the one aspect was top order runs, we didn't really nail that, contributions but not consistency but again I think the prospectors have stuck with the same people, the same guys who won that series and it takes time to build stuff and build a new side going forward. It's great to see the guys in home conditions where we should be very comfortable."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Alastair Cook, England captain (on approaching 10,000 Test runs)

"It would mean a lot, hopefully I can get there sooner rather than later so we can talk about something else. It's a big milestone in terms of the people who have done it before, it will be great to score these 36 runs."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Alastair Cook, England captain (On being England captain)

"I think that is a fair point, certainly its taken me three years to feel comfortable in the job and hopefully I can carry on for a bit, and while I am still enjoying it and while the guys are still responding I will stay there."