OPENER Alastair Cook is wary of taking his own form, or that of England, for granted ahead of a busy summer for the new one-day captain.

Essex’s Cook heads into the first Test against Sri Lanka in Cardiff today as England’s in-form batsman following a dream Ashes tour of Australia during the winter.

The left-hander plundered 766 runs, the second most ever in an Ashes series down under, as England claimed a memorable 3-1 success.

Cook knows the pitfalls of resting on those glories, however, after enduring a barren summer last year when his England place was in doubt following a run of outs against Pakistan.

The 26-year-old believes he is better off for that tough spell and, after being handed the one-day captaincy earlier this month, is determined to continue where he left off in Australia.

“There is never such a smooth path,” Cook said.

“Last summer was a very important time for me, to deal with that, and at other stages in my career I imagine I’ll have to deal with it again.

“That is part of being a batsman. You go through those peaks and troughs in form and it’s about how you deal with them and how you come through each one.

“In Australia, things went a lot better than I could ever have dreamed of, and to deliver as well as I did was hugely satisfying and something I can take a lot of confidence from.

“However, we all know how quickly it can change.

“We’ve got Sri Lanka coming up now and then India later in the summer, the World Cup finalists and the winners respectively, so they’re two hugely strong sides.

“The Ashes captures everyone’s imagination but if we want to be the number one side in the world we have to beat these top teams.”