ENGLAND opener Alastair Cook is confident he play a full part in retaining the Ashes this winter, despite being targeted as a potential week link by Australia captain Ricky Ponting.

Cook captained his country on their last overseas tour to Bangladesh but found his place at the top of the order called into question this summer after a run of poor scores against Pakistan.

Ponting, always keen to pile pressure on opposition batsmen he perceives as vulnerable, has already said Cook and Kevin Pietersen will be high on his bowlers’ hit list.

But when the doubts over his place were at their most intense, Cook responded with a redemptive century in the fourth Test at the Brit Oval.

‘‘Whenever you have a string of low scores (you worry). Your job is to score runs so when you’re not doing that it puts the pressure on,’’ he told Sky Sports News.

‘‘Everyone in the media was calling on me not to be in the side so to score runs under that pressure, when I needed it most and delivered, was good.

‘‘All of us will have to do that in Australia.

‘‘Everyone can have their say but we’re focused on what we do. I did struggle for a couple of matches against Pakistan but in the last 12 months I’ve scored four Test hundreds – three in the last eight games – and hopefully I can go out there and prove a few of them wrong.’’ Cook was in the touring side drubbed 5-0 in Australia four years ago but believes the balance of this squad, combined with a lengthier buildup to the main event, will yield a different result.

‘‘As a side we’re in a better place, we’re stable and coming off a good 18 months where we’ve played some great cricket. The confidence is running throughout the side and everyone is very trusting of everyone else in the squad.

‘‘Last time was different.

The preparation time was a lot shorter due to the Champions Trophy just before. The schedule allowed us to have a bit more time this year and we’ll benefit from the three warm-up games we have.’’

■ Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson is determined to get his mental preparation right for the Ashes after his horror time in England last year.

Johnson, 29 next week, has previously admitted he was mentally distracted during the 2009 series, saying he built it up too much in his head and subsequently failed to find his best form.

Johnson was nowhere near the force he had been over the previous 12 months as he took 33 wickets across six Tests against South Africa at 25.44 He still managed 20 English scalps at a respectable 32.55, but his lack of control at various points meant Ponting was sometimes reluctant to hand his primary strike weapon the ball.

But heading into a new Ashes series, and a chance at redemption against the old enemy, Johnson is determined not to make the same mistake twice.

‘‘Over there I definitely built it up in my mind,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘It was a huge deal for me, like any young guy coming through.

‘‘But look, I think I’ve learned that lesson now and I’ve experienced that and now I’ve adjusted to the pressures of, I guess, being a leader of the attack as well.

‘‘So I’m looking forward to this series, it’s something I’m very excited about,’’ he said.

Mentally fresh and raring to go, Johnson said it is definitely time for Ashes payback.

‘‘We want to win, that’s for sure,’’ he declared.

‘‘We want to win the series and we’re in our backyard now, we’ve got the wickets that we enjoy.’’