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LONDON. — Alastair Cook says he did not have the energy required to stop the England cricket team from “stagnating”. Cook admits England stagnated on his watch, but believes that with the shackles of captaincy released he can lead from the front and help revive the team’s fortunes. Cook stepped down as skipper this week after captaining England to an unrivalled 59 Tests.

The national side’s record run-scorer took almost six weeks after England’s 4-0 defeat in India to confirm his decision to step aside, but concedes that deep down he knew his time was up once they lost the final Test in Chennai by an innings and 75 runs.

At The Oval only six months ago, England were within one more win of going top of the ICC’s Test rankings. They had already endured a patchy 2016, however, and after losing for the first time to Bangladesh and then journeying on without success to India, their eight Test defeats in a calendar year equalled an unwelcome national record.

“We’ve kind of stagnated if we are being brutally honest,” said Cook. “There is a lot of work to be done and I felt I just didn’t have that energy to do it.”

He added: “That’s part of the parcel of being captain, you are responsible. “The dressing room has been fantastic; the support of the players has been brilliant. It’s just, I think, that hearing a new voice could help.”

Cook can look back on two Ashes wins on his watch, as well as notable series successes in India in 2012 and then South Africa just last year. His tenure has, however, been up and down, and he believed his time was up as captain, saying: “I felt, unfortunately, that I was done.

“It was sad – it’s a job you need 100 per cent commitment to. But looking in the mirror at the end of India, I felt I couldn’t do that. It might have been 95 per cent, but that’s not good enough.

“It’s not a job you hang on to like that … I just felt the team just needed a push in a different direction.” So while he admitted sadness at relinquishing his post, he believes a change of captain can rejuvenate an England side that lost eight of 17 tests in 2016, and his own form.

“Over the last 12 months, we’ve won some good games of cricket, we’ve also lost a number of games. I felt the team needed a push in a different direction,” Cook told reporters.

“I think hearing a new voice could help.”

“It’s not an obituary though,” Cook, whose highlights in charge included two home Ashes series wins in 2013 and 2015 and a first away triumph in India for 28 years in 2012, added. “I really hope I am here in four or five years’ time because it means I’ve scored some runs and England are doing well.”

Yorkshireman Joe Root is favourite to take over and with a home series against South Africa and Ashes tour in Australia looming, an in-form Cook would be a fillip. “I have churned out runs most of my career,” Cook said. “I’m excited to go back into the ranks and play with different pressure. There are huge talents in that dressing room and I hope to be still part of it and be able to lead in a slightly different way. I’m still excited by that.”

Cook said he knew when he flew home from India in December after 4-0 series defeat that his time as captain was up. “You need 100 percent commitment to drive the team forward. Looking in the mirror at the end of India, I felt I couldn’t do that. Ninety five percent isn’t good enough.”

While there were plenty of highlights during Cook’s tenure and his record of 24 wins in 59 Tests was acceptable, if not spectacular, there were dark moments.

He came close to quitting in 2014 following a tumultuous period in which England lost an away Ashes series 5-0, his form suffered and maverick Kevin Pietersen’s acrimonious departure left Cook and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) under a cloud.

Pietersen was axed from the squad in 2014 with England director of cricket Andrew Strauss citing a “massive trust issue”.

“I do wish it was done differently. Obviously I was part of the team that made that decision (about Pietersen),” Cook, who was accused by Pietersen of being a “company man”, said.

“There were certain times in 2014 when it did feel as if I was the only one who made that decision. I did bear the brunt of it and my wife saw a lot of it. Without her and her family and my family I would not have lasted as long as I did.”

Cook said a turning point came in the second Test against India in 2014 having lost the first Test at Lord’s.

“The reception I got at Southampton in 2014 when things were as tough as it got, that was a special moment that kept me in the job,” he said of the win in which he scored 95 and 70.

If Root, as expected, does replace him, Cook is confident he would cope with the added burden.

“He would do a very good job. He obviously has something about him to bat the way he does,” he said. “He has a huge amount of respect in the dressing room.” — Sky Sports.