Alastair Cook is in line for a knighthood but may be reliant on an intervention from cricket fan Theresa May to be honoured in time for the Queen's New Year list, Telegraph Sport understands.

The former England cricket captain and nation's record run scorer meets the thresholds of having made a sustained global impact in his sport, sources close to the honours system said.

"A knighthood is a question of when, not if," one insider remarked.

However, Cook, who signed off from Test cricket this week with an innings of 147, may have to wait because the committee is limited in the number of knighthoods it can give out each year.

The panel is understood to have come under pressure from the Cabinet Office to be more strict in considering candidates in recent years.

Cook, 33, who has already received a CBE for services to sport, would normally be nominated either through an application from the public to the Cabinet Office or via sporting governing bodies. The process was described as "slow and tortuous" by one Whitehall insider.