WORCESTERSHIRE opener Stephen Moore has set his sights on emulating the likes of Alastair Cook and Owais Shah by gate-crashing his way on to the England scene in 2006.

Moore saw the way Cook and Shah took advantage of the unavailability of captain Michael Vaughan and his deputy Marcus Trescothick in India to stake their claims for a regular spot for their country.

The 25-year-old was disappointed -- along with Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes -- that he did not earn some sort of recognition in terms of an Academy spot last winter, after following up more than 1,000 runs in his first full season with a tally of 1,399 in 2005.

But Moore is not the sort of person to go away and sulk -- and he spent part of the winter in India working on improving the way he combats spin bowling and is determined to make another big impact this summer.

Moore said: "It was a shame the England thing never happened, because I felt I had a good season in 2005 and really followed up my first year in county cricket with more runs in what is often called the difficult second season.

"I'd be lying if I said I was disappointed not to get the call, especially to go and join the Academy this winter with team-mates. That would have been a great experience for me.

"But I can't dwell or harp on about it and I have moved on since then and spent some time in India working on how to play better against spin bowling -- which I felt was needed."

Moore believes he knows what it takes to succeed in his chosen sport. "You have to have the mentality to show you are the best," he said.

"There are a lot of talented cricketers in this country at the moment - which is good for English cricket.

"I've had good preparation coming into this season and now I hope I can have another good season in 2006 and present my case again - playing for England remains the ultimate ambition for me.

"It's great to see young guys coming through and doing well for England. It also gives you confidence that players you judge yourself against, like Alastair Cook, are scoring runs when picked.

"Cook, who always seems to score runs, and Owais Shah -- with his two good scores in the final test in India -- have shown there is young talent out there. I would love to be the next to get a chance.

"Everybody wants to see England be the best side for the next 10 years, and I plan to be part of that by improving my game just like Cook has."