England captain Cook poised for record Test appearance

Alastair Cook is mentally preparing to become England's most capped Test player as he gets ready to lead his team against Bangladesh in the first Test beginning Thursday.

Cook is poised to overtake Alec Stewart to become England's most capped Test player with 134 appearances, an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) article said on Tuesday.

But Cook said he hasn't dwelled on or thought too much about it.

"I started many years ago and you never thought you'd get anywhere near so to break the record like that is very special," Cook said.

"A lot of luck, I suppose, is needed with injuries and all that stuff and to score just enough runs at the right time to keep yourself in the team."

Cook travelled to Bangladesh with England's One-Day team initially to acclimatise to the sub-continental conditions before flying home for his daughter's birth.

"You can't just expect to turn up and play and do well, you've got to put those hard yards in."

He rejoined the Test squad after the warm-up games and was keen to get back into the mix.

"I do feel okay, now it's just about acclimatisation to the heat. I'm really grateful to the one-day boys to fit me in there because I'd have felt pretty rusty if I hadn't hit a ball for a while," he was quoted as saying by ECB's website.

"It's a hell of a challenge playing in these conditions so respect to Bangladesh and also the guys in the England squad, you can't just expect to turn up and play and do well, you've got to put those hard yards in."

--IANS

sam/bg