Alastair Cook warns England careers are on the line amid Test slump

Alastair Cook has warned members of the England dressing room will "be looking for other employment" if they are unable to reverse their recent run of form.

Cook, who will break Allan Border's record for the most consecutive Testswhen he takes the field in Leeds on Friday, accepts that England are "not playing well" at present and knows they have lost their last three Tests at Headingley.

But he has urged his colleagues to "stick together" and "not carry the negatives from the first Test with us to Headingley."

"We need to play better," Cook said in his Sky Sports column. "Test futures are on the line.

"It's never great when you lose, even more so playing the way we did at Lord's. It's a frustrating time for us at the moment as a side; we're not playing well.

"If you want to play cricket for England, you've got to deliver, otherwise we'll be looking for other employment. That's the nature of the beast and, fundamentally, we're not producing out in the middle.

"But we have to stick together as a group. The last thing you can do is play the blame game, and the trick is now to not carry the negatives from the first Test with us to Headingley.

"Again, that's another thing easier said than done. But clearly we are not going to lose every game of cricket ever, it is going to turn around at some stage, and it's down to us to do that.

While disappointed for Mark Stoneman, who was dropped after the Lord's Test, Cook expressed confidence in his replacement, Keaton Jennings.

"It's tough on Mark Stoneman," Cook said. "It's horrible. Playing for England is these guys' dreams, so it's not nice seeing people dropped. I spoke to him on Monday; he was obviously disappointed, as you'd expect, but he has to now go away, score runs and look at areas in which he can improve his game.

"It gives Keaton a great opportunity, and we just need people to grab these opportunities with both hands and to start pushing this side forward, like Jos Buttler and Dom Bess - on debut - did at Lord's.

"He is a very level-headed guy and seems very suited to Test level, in terms of his mental approach. He got a hundred on debut, which shows he can play, but then against a good South African side last summer things just didn't quite go his way."

Dominant South Africa complete 5-0 sweep

South Africa's bowling prowess came to the fore once again as their new-ball tandem of Shabnim Ismail and Marizanne Kapp took five wickets for 38 runs in 19 overs between them in the fifth and final women's ODIagainst Bangladesh. The duo's parsimony enabled the home team to restrict Bangladesh to 166 for 9 in 50 overs, before opener Laura Wolvaardt's unbeaten 70 took South Africa to their target in just 35 overs.

Even though they played out 50 overs for the first time this series, Bangladesh's innings was highlighted by two collapses, either side of a fourth and a fifth-wicket partnership. First, Kapp and Ismail reduced them to 23 for 3 after Bangladesh were put in to bat. Wicketkeeper-batsman Shamima Sultana, who opened the innings, held up her end and added 85 for the fourth wicket with her captain Rumana Ahmed.

After the stand was broken, with the dismissal of Shamima for 53, Rumana added a further 48 with Nigar Sultana. By the time Rumana was dismissed, she had struck 74 - one run fewer than her highest international score - almost 50 percent of her team's runs. Bangladesh then lost four wickets in their last two overs to end up with an underwhelming total. Ismail finished with 3 for 17 in nine overs, while Kapp took 2 for 21 in 10 overs.

South Africa kept the heat on right through the chase, beginning with Lizelle Lee and Wolvaardt, who stitched together 79 for the first wicket. Wovaardt, however, lost her share of partners after the stand was broken. Trisha Chetty, who, earlier in the game became the first female wicketkeeper to accomplish 150 career dismissals, fell for a two-ball duck, while captain Dane van Niekerk was stumped for 29 on her 25th birthday.

After offspinner Khadija Tul Kubra claimed her third wicket - she sent back Chloe Tryon for a run-a-ball nine - Wolvaardt ensured South Africa stayed the course. She finished not-out on 70 off 96 balls, collecting seven fours and a six along the way.