Cook rues World T20 heartbreak

"They (England) deserve all the credit for getting to that final and the way they played to do that, but because it's such a hard tournament to win, you have to take that opportunity," said Cook.

England Test captain Alastair Cook

England must keep pushing forward in all formats of cricket after suffering an agonising defeat in the World Twenty20 final against West Indies on Sunday, said Test captain Alastair Cook.

A late onslaught from Marlon Samuels and Carlos Brathwaite saw the Windies claim the World T20 crown for a second time in a dramatic four-wicket victory at Eden Gardens.

However, Cook believes the loss should not detract from what he feels has been a successful period for England in both limited-overs and Test cricket.

"It's been a really good 18 months for England cricket as a whole with some fantastic results in all formats," the 31-year-old told Sky Sports News.

"With the talent and the resources we've got, we should be competing in all three areas and we are doing that. 

"Credit goes to everyone behind the scenes, the coaches and of course [director of England cricket] Andrew Strauss who has come in and done what he has done.

"The danger is now not to rest, we have to keep pushing forward with some massive cricket coming up. We've got to keep driving English cricket forward as a whole. It would have been great to have that trophy as another step towards it.

"They deserve all the credit for getting to that final and the way they played to do that, but because it's such a hard tournament to win, you have to take that opportunity."

The Windies required 19 runs from the final over to claim the trophy in Kolkata and they achieved it in sensational style with Brathwaite hitting Ben Stokes for four successive maximums.

Cook offered support to Stokes, suggesting the focus should be on the impressive shots from the Caribbean side, rather than his "stinker".

"I don't think I have ever felt as sorry for a bowler than I did for Ben at the end, but that's Twenty20 cricket for you - you can win it or lose it in an over," he added.

"It was some unbelievable hitting. I do feel for Ben but he's the type of character you want with you in the trenches. We should be talking about how good the hitting was rather than him having a stinker.

"That's how the game has changed these last couple of years. Guys are coming in, getting 30 off 10 balls and hitting the ball a mile."