ALASTAIR Cook has no intention of stepping down as England captain despite overseeing their first ever Test series defeat to Sri Lanka.

England were on the verge of securing a very unlikely draw in the second Test at Headingley, but James Anderson fell to the penultimate ball which meant his and centurion Moeen Ali's last-wicket stand was in vain as the tourists sealed a 100-run win and a historic 1-0 series triumph.

Essex star Cook's leadership has been under scrutiny since the 5-0 Ashes whitewash and his position will come under increasing scrutiny following this result, but the left-handed opener insists he is keen to carry on.

"It's a huge honour to captain England and I'm in it for the long haul, as long as I can be, because I believe I'm the right man for the job," Cook told Sky Sports 2.

"If someone else decides that not the case then so be it, but I've got to give all blood, sweat and tears into the England captaincy. I never quit on anything, I'm a determined bloke and I'm determined to turn this around."

Cook's form with the bat has been a hot topic of conversation as the Essex man has not registered a century in over a year - a run of 12 Test matches - and has managed just 601 runs in his last 24 innings at an average of 25.

The 29-year-old admitted he needs to improve ahead of the five-Test series against India, which gets under way in a fortnight's time at Trent Bridge.

"It's tough, you're there at the top of the order to score runs and when you haven't done it for 12 Test matches it becomes harder and harder," Cook said.

"I have to go back to what I know which are my real basics. I've got 10 days of real preparation for India to make sure I'm ready for that.

"I know I've got to score runs. No one's got a divine right to captain a side or play in the side if you're not performing.

"I've got to go back to doing what I do best which is scoring runs at the top of the order, I've got to work bloody hard over the next 10 days on my game.

"Hopefully that'll be good enough, if it's not then it's not."