England captain Alastair Cook has warned head coach Andy Flower against making any "radical decisions" ahead of the fourth Ashes Test next week.

Many critics have questioned the commitment of England's more experienced players such as Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann and James Anderson, having been battered in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth as Australia regained the urn by taking a 3-0 lead in the series Down Under.

"When the game's just finished and everyone's really emotive and it's hurting like it's hurting, you could make some very radical decisions which could be the wrong ones," Cook told reporters.

"These have to be very cool, calculated decisions at the right time."

The fourth Test gets underway late on Christmas Day in Melbourne.