Sir Alastair Cook's Shane Warne regret speaks volumes after 'tough' relationship

Daily Mirror

29-06-2025

Shane Warne was one of Sir Alastair Cook's biggest critics during the latter's England captaincy, but there is one regret the iconic opening batsman has
In every press conference, Sir Alastair Cook knew he was going to be bowled a spinning, stinging question on Shane Warne. Cook and Warne only faced each other in the 2006/07 Ashes series, when the England cricket captain was a fresh faced, but promising youngster and Warne was at the very end of his career.
They had few battles on the field, but that did not prevent a feud from developing between the pair. During Cook's captaincy between 2012 and 2017, Warne, who passed away at the age of 52 years old in 2022 after suffering a heart attack, repeatedly targeted the Essex Eagles star.
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Warne never held back in his comments on Cook, saving his most venomous jibes for his newspaper columns. After Sri Lanka overcame England at Headingley to claim a 2014 series victory, the Aussie cricket legend nicknamed him "Alastair Cooked."
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In his column for the Telegraph, he also wrote: "His captaincy at Lord's was terrible. Then on Monday at Headingley, I witnessed the worst day of captaincy I have ever seen at international level in almost 25 years in the game.
"It was horrific, and I am not the only one singing that tune. This column is not a personal attack and never has been Alastair. Mate, you need to improve tactically or England need someone else in the job."
Cook decided he had enough of Warne's comments, stating that many of the criticisms were becoming personal attacks. Warne would go on to reveal in July 2014 that they had "cleared the air" during an "amicable" phone call.
Speaking to Mirror Sport at the launch of the Overlap and Betfair's Stick to Cricket show, Cook looked back on their rocky relationship. He said: "When someone has died, it's incredibly sad and the game lost a great character.
"One of the things I suppose is sad is that I never experienced Shane Warne from the media side. [I never got] to go and have a beer with him and really chat to him about sport and about his views on cricket.
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"When I chatted to him in the past, after that stage where we kind of went through a bit of a tough side in 2015, he was brilliant to talk to about cricket. He had a great cricket brain, thought about things that I'd never thought about.
"He was very keen to offer help. Adil Rashid came in for a session with him in Abu Dhabi. He was renowned for and brilliant for that. The game is poorer off without him.'
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Like many in cricket, Cook remembers exactly where he was when news of Warne's passing was confirmed. He added: "We were on the plane for an Abu Dhabi pre-season tour with Essex. You know, word gets round and there was just shock.'
Cook retired from captaining England in 2017 after a record 59 tests as skipper, where he won the Ashes twice. When his exit was announced, Warne was one of the first to praise him, saying: "He's been a wonderful ambassador for the game of cricket. He's one of those guys you wouldn't mind your daughter marrying, he's a wonderful guy."
He added: "He's respected and I think he's gone about it with a lot of class. He went through some really tough times a few years ago when a lot of us, me included, thought he wasn't suited to the job.
"But England backed him and he's done a great job over the last couple of years. He's respected by his team-mates and the way he's conducted things on and off the field. I think he's done a wonderful job for England and I wish him all the best."
Betfair are set for a big summer and winter of cricket, launching a new show with The Overlap: Stick to Cricket. Don't miss the first episode next week, where the team will be reviewing the opening test of the series between England and India.