Cook - KP demands respect

England opener Alastair Cook described new England skipper Kevin Pietersen as a man who 'demands respect'.

Essex opener expected Strauss to get the nod

England opener Alastair Cook described new England skipper Kevin Pietersen as a man who 'demands respect'. Pietersen was appointed England Test and one-day captain on Monday and the 23-year-old Essex batsman expects the players to rally round their new leader. Cook confirmed that he would like to lead his country in the future but is happy to wait for his chance. "It's the best honour in the the game to captain your country," he told Sky Sports News. "It's obviously hard off the field but if it came my way I'd love the challenge. "But at the moment it's all about KP and fingers crossed we can get behind him and help him do a really good job." Andrew Strauss, Kent skipper Robert Key and Cook himself were all mentioned as potential successors to Michael Vaughan and Cook added: "I thought 'Straussy' had a really good chance too but they've chosen Kevin and he's got some really good people around him. "He's an excellent batter and demands respect with his batting. He's also not shy of making the big decisions - those big decisions are not going to affect that style of guy. "He hasn't done too much captaining before so it will be interesting but all I know is he has the support of everyone."