England captain Joe Root wants Ollie Pope to get greedy for Test-match centuries after his man-of-the-match display in Port Elizabeth and believes the batsman can go on to break records.
Root led his side to victory by an innings and 53 runs in the third Test against South Africa, taking a 2-1 lead ahead of Friday's series decider in Johannesburg.
It took several big performances to get the job done, from Ben Stokes' brilliant 120, to Dom Bess' maiden five-wicket haul and Mark Wood's sustained show of pace on his return to the side.
"It is easy to look at the last hour too closely but we'll look at the four days that preceded it: we were outstanding, and that's what we will concentrate on," he said.
"I thought this was a brilliant template for us moving forward as a team. We made big first-innings runs and then really drove the game from that point onwards.
"There's going to be bumps in the road and we're going to get it wrong on occasions, especially with a young group of players. We're very much at the start of the journey.
"But as long as the group is willing to learn and put it in time and time again – doing the things that aren't necessarily the most flattering, the difficult things to do in Test cricket – then we'll be fine."
