Alastair Cook paying no attention to chatter ‘outside’ the England dressing room

England's captain Alastair Cook says he will pay no attention to any talk about his performance from outside the dressing room. Eranga Jayawardena / AP Photo

England captain Alastair Cook said he will pay little heed to the opinions of those "outside" his dressing room, such as Kevin Pietersen.

An indifferent performance, from the batsmen in particular, condemned England to an eight-wicket defeat on Saturday against Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium, where the hosts won with more than 10 overs to spare in a rain-reduced match.

Pietersen tweeted: “Dear Alastair, if you care about England’s chances this winter, pls resign and just concentrate on Test cricket.”

But Cook said: “We’re the guys who have the honour of playing for England at this moment in time, and we have guys who have the opportunity to turn it round – not other people outside.”

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