London, Jan 11: England captain Alastair Cook has urged his players to cement their number one status in the ICC ODI rankings with a series win against India, starting today in Rajkot.

Cook said England would be recognized as the undisputed champions of fifty-over format only after a series win against India, the Daily Mirror reports.

Technically England is world''s best one-day side albeit by a fraction from South Africa who drew 2-2 with them in the summer.

London, Sep 30 : England ODI skipper Alastair Cook is confident his side can end the team's poor record in India in recent times.

Thirteen times the sides have tackled each other on the subcontinent in the past five years and England has triumphed just once in 2006.

The India series will be Cook's first major overseas assignment as full-time one-day captain as he will try his best to to beat the world champions on their own turf.

London, Sep. 10 : England one-day cricket captain Alastair Cook on Friday said that he was delighted with his team''s two nil scoreline in the ongoing one-day series against India.

Addressing a post-match news conference after England beat India by three wickets in a rain affected event, Cook said: "Very delighted to be two-nil up. But we have come here to win the series. So, a very quick turn around till Lords, we have covered it well and it is a big game again at Lords on Sunday."

Birmingham, Aug 12 : Alastair Cook struck his 19th Test century as England tightened their grip on the third Test by posting a mammoth 456 for three in the first innings, in reply to India's 224, after the second day's play here Thursday.

Cook, who was batting on 182 not out, went ahead of David Gower, Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen in England's all-time list of centurions to go level with Len Hutton and his captain Andrew Strauss, who missed a great chance to score his 20th Test ton here at the Edgbaston.

Matt Prior is the first choice Test keeper for the side for this summer and for the Ashes tour next winter despite being dropped for the upcoming World Twenty20 squad, England's vice-captain Alastair Cook has said.

Cook said, "Matt has done an amazing job with the gloves over the last 18 months."

London, July 29 : Opener Alastair Cook says England must banish the Lord's euphoria if they are to establish a decisive Ashes lead in the third Test at Edgbaston, which gets underway from tomorrow.

A first win over Australia at Lord's in 75 years left the team on cloud nine, but Cook said: "We've had a good week off and enjoyed being 1-0 up, but that counts for nothing now. The hard work starts again and that is where we are."

London, Apr 29 : England’s opener Alastair Cook has backed Ravi Bopara to replace injured all rounder Andrew Flintoff.

Flintoff is missing once again after knee surgery on Monday saw him laid up until the Twenty20 World Cup in June.

Bopara, who came in for Flintoff on the recent tour of West Indies, smashed a sparkling century in Barbados before being dropped for the final Test.

Bopara is the likely man at No. 6, and Cook believes that his county teammate can continue giving the selectors a headache, The Sun reports.

Jamaica (West Indies), Feb. 10: England opener Alastair Cook has said that he has not lost his appetite for making runs, and knows that he hasn't scored a Test hundred since December 2007.

"I haven't lost my hunger. There's no better feeling than scoring Test hundreds, you'd do it every day if you could. I probably get conscious when I get to 50 because I haven't done it for a while," The Sun quoted Cook, as saying.

London, Jan. 25 : Opener Alastair Cook has been named the vice-captain of the England Test cricket team for the Caribbean tour, suggesting that the England and Wales Cricket Board sees him as future captaincy material.

Essex batsman Cook, 24, has been chosen over the more experienced former one-day skipper Paul Collingwood. Collingwood is likely to be Strauss''s deputy in the one-dayers.