Stand-in England captain given backed by coach

Alistair Cook has been given the full backing of head coach Andy Flower as he prepares to take on his role as stand-in England captain.

It was revealed this week that Andrew Strauss is to take a break from international cricket, which means Cook will lead the England Test side on the forthcoming tours of the UAE and Bangladesh.

The 25-year-old will have some pressure taken off him as Paul Collingwood has been named as the captain for the Twenty20 games against Pakistan before the England side fly to Bangladesh for a tour which involves three one-day games and two Tests.

Flower has admitted that Cook may lack some of the experience needed to captain a national Test side, but added he was a "tough young man" who can handle himself impeccably.

"He's done a superb job with the bat in his hand - and you can see some of the qualities like resilience, toughness, determination and also his love of the game," said Flowers.

"He will use those qualities in his captaincy. In my judgment, he is a natural leader."

While Bangladesh are no longer the whipping boys they once were, cricket betting markets still make England strong favourites for the Test series despite the absence of Strauss.

Flower has also confirmed that he is confident that Kevin Pietersen will regain his form with the bat on the tour of Bangladesh.

He told the BBC he expects the batsman to regain confidence and improve technically as he continues his comeback from surgery.

Pietersen, along with most of England's batman, had a patchy tour of South Africa and in two of the four Tests it took a gutsy performance from tail-ender Graeme Onions to defy the cricket odds and secure a draw.