Alastair Cook has targeted a positive start to the second Ashes Test against Australia, as England look to strengthen their grip on the famous urn.

The Three Lions were rewarded for the bold approach they adopted in last week's series opener, claiming a 169-run win at Cardiff's SWALEC Stadium.

However, England have let slip promising positions in their last two Test series fixtures against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, which Cook remains wary of heading into today's meeting at Lord's.

"We have to get on the front foot, as we did in the Cardiff Test match," the skipper is quoted as saying by cricket365.com. "One from one is pretty good - the challenge now is can we do it again here? The last [two] Test series, we haven't done that.

"We hope we can get the crowd behind us like they were in Cardiff. They will come back hard at us. It's how we respond and whether we can put the pressure back on them."

Australia have failed to win a series in England since 2001.