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Cooks urges domestic players on the fringes of national team selection to never give up on their dreams

Proteas test opener Stephen Cook says domestic players who are on the fringes of national team selection should not give up on their dream of getting into the ODI side.

The efficiency of the limited overs unit has been as such that they have won 12 ODI's on the trot.

It is the kind of excellence and stability not seen since the mid-2000's in the early days of Mickey Arthur's tenure and in the late-1990's when the late Bob Woolmer was at his innovative best.

“ICC events are something players look forward to and one has to understand the team is settled and in a good space at the momen‚" Cook said.

"However‚ you can never know with cricket because injuries happen and guys will want to make sure they're next on the list and that could inspire some of their performances.

“I also feel there's a lot of positivity around South African cricket at the moment.

"That's adding to the improved performances in domestic cricket‚ which was the case in the four-day stuff.”

Cook will be playing in his last Momentum 1-Day Cup game on Friday against the Dolphins in Durban before he departs for the test leg of the New Zealand tour on Saturday evening.

While it is too early to say whether the Highveld Lions will miss him‚ Reeza Hendricks's crackerjack hundred against the Warriors on Sunday allayed temporary fears of the Lions missing their reliable opener.

In the match-fixing enforced absence of Alviro Petersen‚ who reeled off centuries for fun in last season's successful campaign‚ Hendricks has become the off-side ying to Cook's leg-side yang.

Cook chipped in with a handy 84-ball 81 as the Lions piled up an imposing 329/7 on their way to a convincing 44-run win.

Cook knows there will be bigger swing tests in New Zealand through Trent Boult and Tim Southee‚ but he said he is starting to find his groove again.

“Reeza seemed to score quickly without taking a lot of risks and that's the sign of a very good limited overs player‚" Cook said.

"If you look at guys like Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla‚ they score very quickly without taking too many risks and having to do anything outrageous.

"What he excelled in was his strike rotation and this allowed our respective games to flourish.”

“Even though it was a short-format game‚ it was nice to spend some time in the middle even though I felt like a spectator watching the Reeza Hendricks show.

"It wasn't similar to the challenges I could be facing in New Zealand but it was about getting the feet moving and getting the confidence going.” - TMG Digital