Captain Alastair Cook admits England require a huge rebuild after awful winter

The 29-year-old is not part of the T20 squad so missed Tuesday's humiliation by Holland, but he was in charge for the mauling by Australia over the winter.

And Cook admits he and whoever is appointed new coach face a long slog to restore England to anywhere near the top of the world game.

"We don't know our best XI any more, there are a lot of places up for grabs and that makes it a very exciting time for English cricket," said Cook, who has the backing of the ECB to carry on as captain.

"You can't hide behind the five years of success we enjoyed before. We've had an incredibly tough winter and we didn't produce anywhere near the standards required.

"We've lost the core of the side - the coach and some very good senior players - and it's not going to be a quick fix. It's not going to turn again for us overnight.

"Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower started off from a similar spot to where we are now, after we were bowled out for 51 in Jamaica. This is a new era because it has to be that way," he said.

"We can't guarantee lots of great results straight away - that's not how international sport works - because we need to get those standards and skills back to where we were.

"It took two-and-a-half years of building momentum to the point where we reached No1 in the world, and it will take time to get back to that level.

"The Test side that won three Ashes series in a row has broken up quicker than we'd all imagined, but that provides an opportunity for guys to put themselves up for selection.

"But we can still win the Ashes in 2015, of course we can. You only have to look at Australia, who were 2-0 down after two Tests here in England last summer, and they bounced back very quickly."

Apart from getting the team back on track Cook has got to get some runs to make sure he is certain of a place as opener, and not just as skipper.

He averaged just 24 in the winter's Ashes series and needs some big scores for his own peace of mind, despite having the backing of the ECB to carry on as captain.

"Sometimes the harder you try, the worse it gets, and it's how you bounce back that really defines you," he said.

"I'm looking forward to getting out in the middle, but it's a very exciting time for my family (he is due to become a dad any day soon) and that's got to come first.

"If all is well, I'll be taking guard against Cambridge University next week."

Apart from his own form Cook will be keeping a close eye on Jonathan Trott, who made his playing return for Warwickshire yesterday four months after quitting the Ashes tour with fatigue.

In a two-day friendly against Gloucestershire at Edgbaston, Trott scored just four before being caught LBW.

WEST INDIES booked a place against Sri Lanka in tomorrow's World T20 semi-final when they beat Pakistan by 84 runs yesterday.

Copyright : dailystar.co.uk

England captain Alastair Cook expects changes following tough tour to Australia

Alastair Cook has suggested he may stand down as England one-day captain after losing the series to Australia with two games to spare.

The hosts cruised past England's total of 243-9 with seven wickets and 10 overs to spare in Sydney on Sunday, meaning they now hold an unassailable 3-0 lead following previous victories in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Cook - English cricket needs changes

It means the tourists have now lost eight international games in a row on the tour, including a 5-0 whitewash in the Ashes series Down Under.

Speaking after the third one-dayer, Cook said management would need to talk over "a lot of things" at the end of the trip, but stated that "English cricket needs a little bit of a change" following the horrific run of results.

"I think I'm going to have to make a decision on that after you take stock of the next two games (to end the series)," he said.

"We'll sit down and talk over a lot of things. I think there will be some changes.

"I think English cricket needs a little bit of a change as well.

"The last few months we haven't played the cricket we are capable of. We have to look at the reasons why."

Long two weeks

Cook to step down?

The opening batsman was given the backing to remain in charge by the England and Wales Cricket board during the fifth Test at the same venue.

Asked if he felt his position has been undermined since, Cook added: "I don't really want to get dragged into my position. I think it's been two weeks since someone asked me that question - it's been a long two weeks.

"We have kept losing games of cricket and I haven't been able to turn it around."

As for the game itself, Cook lamented the failure of his batsmen to kick on after making starts. All of the top six for the tourists made it into double figures, the skipper himself making 35 while Eoin Morgan top-scored with 54.

Clarke praises perfect performance

"In the first 10 overs we played alright," Cook said. "Then we did what you can't afford to do - we kept losing wickets. It's very had to build momentum.

"I think everyone got 20 or 30 - you need to go on. In the last game we managed to do it, then you get a big score. If someone gets a hundred you get 300+, and that's what we needed.

"They've won a lot of cricket against us over the past couple of months; obviously it's tough to stop that. We've got two games to try and do that."

Cook is due to meet team director Andy Flower and new managing director Paul Downton when he returns home to conduct a review of the Australia tour. He is not part of the squad for the three-match Twenty20 series that is still to come, with Stuart Broad in charge for those matches.

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