England players can strike over too much cricket: Cook

Alastair Cook has warned that England's players could go on a strike if the country's Board does not trim the schedule as the team is playing "too much cricket".

Cook, who is widely tipped to take over as ODI captain if Andrew Strauss decides to quit the post, said the players are are competing in far too many games and risk burnout.

"I feel sorry for the lads. I've been pretty much the only one who's been able to play and to enjoy the experience of winning because of the schedule," the 26-year-old told The Daily Mail.

"It has to change before it all becomes meaningless. As players we don't have much power. We keep on saying that we play too much cricket. I've been saying this since I was 18 and I'm now 26, but we cram more and more games in.

"We can go on strike, which is not recommended, but at some stage it will have to change," he warned.

England's players were on the road for close to five months before the World Cup and ended up losing some key players such as Stuart Broad and Kevin Pietersen to injury during the mega-event.

Their campaign came to an end in the quarter-finals.