Piers Morgan has said sorry to Sir Alastair Cook for his over-the-top reaction to the ex-England captain in the aftermath of Kevin Pietersen’s international exile.

Ten years ago, media personality Morgan said ‘hell would freeze over,’ before he apologised to Cook or Sir Andrew Strauss for his public comments about them ‘ruining’ Pietersen’s career.

Pietersen, 45, was effectively sacked by the ECB following the 5-0 Ashes whitewash in 2013-14, as a long-term strategic decision amid claims that he was not supporting Cook as captain and was not fully committed to the team environment. 

He was later blocked from returning in 2015 by then-England director of cricket Strauss, who cited ‘massive trust issues’ as the reason. 

Throughout the saga, Morgan backed Pietersen to the hilt and when Cook retired in September 2018, as England’s leading Test run scorer, Morgan marked the occasion by saying the opening batsman bored him to tears.

However, during an appearance as a Stick To Cricket podcast guest, the 60-year-old said: ‘I have to admit I was very full on against you (Alastair) personally without knowing you. And when I look back at some of the things I tweeted about you - I know you're not on social media - I did go over the top.

‘So, I will take this opportunity. I’m sorry for the 38 weasel references.’

Morgan continued: ‘Me and Alastair fell out without ever meeting because I felt that the whole thing was just really badly handled with Kevin Pietersen.

‘I loved watching Kevin Pietersen bat. He had been to me the greatest post-war batsman we produced, certainly the most entertaining. 

'He was fit as a fiddle; he had been the top scorer in that (Ashes) series and yet he became the sacrificial lamb who never played for England again.

‘The real victim was the England cricket fan who would have loved another five years out of Kevin Pietersen.’