Alastair Cook 'bids to emulate Gray-Nicolls cricket bat user Andrew Strauss'

New England one-day captain Alastair Cook has identified Andrew Strauss as his inspiration as he prepares for his first game in charge.

The Essex batsman – who uses a Gray-Nicolls cricket bat like Strauss – has suggested he must prove himself in 50-over cricket.

Previous skipper Strauss established himself in the Test team before he enjoyed success in the shorter form of the game.

He lost his place in the team after the 2007 World Cup but was then reinstated as captain – a situation not dissimilar from Cook's own.

Cook cited Strauss' increasing strike rate as an example of what he must look to do, stating: "You can evolve as a player, you can definitely improve and he certainly did that and hopefully I can follow in his footsteps."

The new skipper is in exceptional form in Test cricket, having averaged more than 100 in the winter's Ashes series and hitting two centuries in four innings against Sri Lanka in recent weeks.