'Introspective' Cook admits need to improve as England's leader after Ashes flop

England captain Alastair Cook has admitted that he needs to improve himself as a leader and have to stand up in order to make a huge difference for the team.

Seeking to fashion a winning team from the wreckage of the winter Ashes tour, Cook has lost the urn to Michael Clarke's Australia in three swift and brutal ambushes after holding it for just 19 weeks.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the speed of defeat, plus the amount of casualties and collateral damage, has been traumatic and caused Cook to question his leadership, a natural reaction when senior players are not performing, and the captain said that he needs to improve as a leader as being a captain, he is responsible for lot of things.

The report mentioned that big runs are what Cook and his team have lacked and, Ben Stokes's brilliant century aside, they have not looked like making them in the quantities required, usually in the first innings, to win Test matches in Australia.

The shortfall, especially compared to Australia's massive totals, has proved decisive and with two Tests remaining, including the daunting Boxing Day Test at the MCG where a world-record crowd of 100,000 could gather on the opening day, England has nothing to play for but pride, the report added.