Alastair Cook indicates he could soon resign from Eng captaincy

"Deep down I don't know how much longer I am going to carry on. It could be two months, it could be a year,” he told the Cricketer magazine.

"I do look forward to the day when hopefully I can play a Test match as just a batter, there's no doubt about that.

"If that happens I am going to really enjoy standing at first slip and being the bloke who makes suggestions to whoever's in charge and not being the bloke who has to make the final decision.”

Cook was appointed captain in 2012 and led the side to India immediately afterwards in what was expected to be a tough series for the visitors, who overcame the dustbowls and challenging conditions to win 2-1.

Cook has won 24 of his 54 Tests as captain including two home Ashes series triumphs  as England ended the Australian dominance of the 90s.

There have been some tough moments and amazing moments and you can enjoy that success that little bit more because of what you go through as England captain.

Cook

The opener has expressed mental fatigue at the constant grind that he has endured as a cricketer and has spoken about the sacrifices he has had to make only getting bigger with time. Despite the stance on captaincy, he has insisted that he would continue to play Test cricket.

Cook beat Sachin Tendulkar’s record of being the youngest to reach 10,000 Test runs and has 10,688 to his name from 135 Tests, including 29 hundreds – an England record for maximum Test runs and centuries.

"I do look forward to the day when hopefully I can play a Test match as just a batter, there's no doubt about that," said Cook.