Cook challenges England's batsmen

England captain Alastair Cook has laid down the challenge to the nation's batsmen, telling them a position in the Test side could be theirs if they perform well early in the county season.

England start their international summer with the first of three Tests against Sri Lanka, starting on May 19 at Headingley, and Cook concedes Test XI is far from settled.

And he says any batsman who stands out in the early rounds of the county season, which starts this weekend, will be well in contention to take on the Sri Lankans.

"A lot of things aren’t sorted," Cook said.

"You win a series away from home against the No.1 team in the world (South Africa last December and January), but there’s still all to play for and I think that’s where we’re at as a Test side.

"The top order didn’t perform as well as we would have liked in South Africa so there are places up for grabs.

"People in county cricket should be targeting these four weeks or so to put their name forward."

Several members of England's top six were unable to fire during their brilliant series win in South Africa over the then world No.1 Proteas during the northern winter.

New opener Alex Hales (who averaged 17 in four Tests against the Proteas), No.3 Nick Compton (averaged 30 from four Tests) and No.5 James Taylor (averaged 26 from four Tests) were all unable to cement their place for the upcoming home summer.

The uncertainty surrounding Hales means that once again, the identity of Cook's opening partner is unclear heading into the season.

Cook, who has been one half of eight opening partnerships since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012, indicated Hales needed to find early season form with Nottinghamshire to retain his spot for the Test series. 

"Alex is a good character,’ said Cook. "He’s got a couple of weeks break and then some games for Notts. He will know runs will do him good.

"I think in an ideal world you want to give someone more than four games to establish themselves in Test cricket.

"But the selectors have got an interesting choice because we haven’t quite got it right in that opening position.

"Eight have come in since Andrew Strauss retired and no one’s nailed it.

"So when you average 17 in a series you’re not guaranteed selection for the next one and that’s the way it should be because there’s a lot of good players out there."

Cook also said the door was far from closed on 118-Test veteran Ian Bell, who was left out of the touring party for the series against South Africa.

The 33-year-old, who has more than 7700 runs and 22 centuries in his 11-year international career, will captain Warwickshire in this year's County Championship.

And Cook said Bell, like other batsmen around the country, can work his way back into the Test side with good performances in first-class cricket.

"I haven’t spoken to Ian for a while but he’s a hundred per cent still in the frame," said Cook.

"I think he’s quite enjoyed the break from the limelight.

"He knows how important early season runs are and he also knows his experience and record count in his favour. It’s going to be an interesting few weeks."

Bell said he wasn't surprised to be dropped following a lean period with the bat, but said he was far from a spent force at Test level.

"I wasn’t angry. I could understand it," Bell said of being left out for the South Africa series.

"I’d expect whoever is in the top six to score runs and so I don’t want to make excuses; I didn’t score enough.

"And I can sit here now and say I have felt the benefit of a break.

"And I still believe, the way I am hitting the ball, I am good enough to get in that top six. I don’t think I’ve lost my game."