Alastair Cook: Ravi Bopara gives support for England captain

England all-rounder Ravi Bopara has backed Alastair Cook to continue as the side's captain in both the Test and one-day format of the game.

Following the 5-0 Ashes defeat and three successive ODI losses, Cook said he could resign as skipper of the limited-overs team.

But Bopara said: "I would love for him to carry on and do both formats.

"I do believe that your best player should be your captain and I still believe that he is our best player."

Cook was left to consider his position after Australia took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match one-day series.

His own lack of form has compounded his misery as he scored just 246 runs in 10 innings during the Ashes, while he has been dismissed for four, 22 and 35 in the ODIs.

England have now lost nine successive matches in various formats against Australia, with two more one-dayers and three Twenty20 matches remaining before they return home.

"Although the captain always gets the blame, I don't think that's right," said Bopara, who insisted Essex team-mate Cook had a very good record as captain prior to this Ashes tour.

"It is a team game. The team needs to perform for you to win. The other players see it the same way. He is one of our most experienced players."

Bopara, who has scored just 62 from three one-day innings in Australia, added: "He is the sort of guy who will turn it around. I think this is good for him and he will come out of it a much better person."

Former England captain Alec Stewart expects the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to undertake a review when the current tour ends, but feels that Cook has been badly let down by his players in Australia and should not step down.

"He will review his own position but, most importantly, the ECB will review the whole tour and reflect on what went wrong and why it went wrong," he told BBC Sport.

"After the review, the ECB may make a change but I am not going to say that Alastair Cook should stand down.

"The whole squad underperformed and whoever was in charge would not have got a win with those performances."