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"Never Had Beer With Him": Alastair Cook Reflects On 'Tough' Dynamics With Shane Warne

Soumyajit Dutta

Sir Alastair Cook and Shane Warne together [Source: @KRNayar1/X.com]Sir Alastair Cook and Shane Warne together [Source: @KRNayar1/X.com]

Recently, former England captain Sir Alastair Cook has reflected on his turbulent yet ultimately respectful relationship with the late Australian cricket legend Shane Warne. Despite only facing each other briefly during the 2006/07 Ashes, Warne became a persistent critic of Cook's leadership during his tenure as England skipper between 2012 and 2017.

Warne, who passed away in 2022 aged 52, frequently targeted Cook in media columns, delivering scathing assessments of his captaincy. 

Alastair Cook Opens Up On Feud With Warne

Notably, the feud intensified in 2014 after England's series loss to Sri Lanka, where Warne infamously nicknamed Cook "Alastair Cooked" and described his tactics at Headingley as "the worst day of captaincy I have ever seen at international level in almost 25 years in the game."

Cook felt many criticisms crossed into personal attacks, stating he "had enough." Warne later revealed they had "cleared the air" during an "amicable" phone call that year. 

Their relationship improved significantly afterwards, particularly when Warne offered help to England spinner Adil Rashid during a 2015 tour. Speaking recently to Mirror Sport, Cook acknowledged the sadness of Warne's passing and the loss to cricket. 

"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 chat to him about sport and about his views on cricket. When I chatted with 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 and thought about things that I’d never thought about," Cook said.

Cook Reveals His Reaction After Warne Passed Away

Cook remembered the shock of learning of Shane Warne's death while travelling with Essex. 

"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 said.

Notably, when Cook retired from the England captaincy in 2017, Warne was among the first to offer generous praise, calling Cook "a wonderful ambassador" and "respected by his team-mates," adding, "He's done a wonderful job for England and I wish him all the best."

Moreover, their journey, marked by public friction, evolved into mutual cricketing respect, which was reflected by every bit when Cook opened up about the Australian spinner.