ALASTAIR COOK must set aside a welter of hopes and fears this morning when he arrives at Lord’s for his first home Test as England captain.

The hopes, of course, will be that his team can banish the memories of their 0-0 stalemate in New Zealand to beat the same opposition in a two- Test rematch and set the tone for a summer of unprecedented high profile in English cricket.

The fears – not that Cook would choose to describe them as such – emanate from that disappointment, and avoidance of series defeat by the narrowest of margins, against the Kiwis two months ago.

Theories, and accusations, have abounded – since Matt Prior scrambled England to safety in Auckland – that England paid the price in those three March Tests for initial complacency which immediately put them under pressure.

With back-to-back Ashes looming ever closer, and a Champions Trophy on home soil thrown in for good measure next month, the need for a reassuringly good start here could hardly be more urgent.

Cook, preparing for his eighth Test as permanent captain, has been engaged in a series of team and management meetings to identify how England get back on the track which helped them win in India last year for the first time in three decades.

None of those summits, he insists however, have been out of the ordinary at the start of a Test summer. ‘‘It’s always serious, isn’t it? We’re in a serious industry here.

‘‘Look at the beginning of every summer – you have those meetings outlining your plans, the way you want to go about things and the challenge ahead – and we’ve obviously got some challenges ahead of us.’’ Cook is not afraid of plain speaking, behind closed doors at any rate, but insists that was not necessarily the agenda of recent weeks.

‘‘There’s always times when you’ve got to have a few harsh words, but I don’t think we should go down that route.

‘‘Those meetings weren’t about that kind of stuff – it’s just about trying to produce our goods over these two weeks.

‘‘Anyone who plays for England, whether you’re the captain or the coach, you expect high standards – and when those high standards aren’t met, that’s a perfectly opportune moment to be cross.’’ Cook believes it would be wrong to fixate on England’s under-performance in New Zealand, and forget about their success in India.

‘‘We didn’t play as well in New Zealand as we did in India – I think that’s pretty clear to everyone.

‘‘But the performance in India shouldn’t be forgotten.

‘‘That was an outstanding achievement. I think 14 guys played in that series, and I think that was a fantastic achievement, so we should not just brush that under the carpet.’’ Cook is not trying to airbrush England’s most recent history, but takes issue with those allegations of complacency.

‘‘All right, we didn’t play as well as we’d like in New Zealand,” he said. ‘‘We have been looking at some of those reasons, of course, that’s what coaches do. That’s what players do. You always evaluate and challenge yourself to see what you could do better.

‘‘I don’t think it was a lack of effort, a lack of application.

‘‘I think if you go back to the warm-ups and what we did in our preparation, I remember talking to (coach) Andy (Flower) and saying ’I think we’ve had a really good preparation period, we’re ready to play’.

‘‘We’d won the one day series – the guys were in form.

‘‘So in hindsight, to start picking faults when they probably weren’t there (is wrong).

‘‘Obviously, we’ve been looking at these reasons behind closed doors – and they’ll stay there.

‘‘It certainly wasn’t to do with lack of attitude.’’ One problem Cook is confident England will not have is to concentrate on the here and now against New Zealand, to the exclusion of back-to-back Ashes later this year.

‘‘That is very easy,’’ he said.

‘‘Firstly, there is the challenge ahead of us from New Zealand – who showed in those three Test matches they’re going to be a very tough side to beat.

‘‘But there is also a skill as a sportsman – to just stay in the present.

‘‘You don’t look too far ahead; you’re always worried about your next innings, or your next over if you’re a bowler. That is a skill sportsmen have.’’ It is one of many Cook is sure to need in a special summer when the success or otherwise of his team will be headline news throughout.