Back in 2014, Piers Morgan, a broadcaster notorious for going over the top in his social media rants, had accused then England captain Alastair Cook of playing a part in edging out Kevin Pietersen from the England team, calling Cook a 'weasel'. "As for you Alastair Cook - what a repulsive little weasel you've turned out to be. Aside from worst ever Ashes tour captain. #KPSacked," Piers Morgan had tweeted on 'X' (formerly Twitter), 11 years ago. In a recent episode of the Stick To Cricket podcast, Morgan and Cook came face to face with the broadcaster apologising to the ex-player for being hostile towards him for all these years. “And the real victim I think were the England cricket fans who would have loved another five years of Kevin Pietersen. And I just felt the fact that he never played again after 33, still to me feels like it could have been better handled. 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, but I did go over the top. So, I will take this opportunity. I’m sorry for the 38 weasel references,” Piers Morgan said. “I’m sorry for calling you a weasel…” 😳@PiersMorgan & Alastair Cook finally clear the air. pic.twitter.com/ClVKhJGN1Y — Stick to Cricket (@StickToCricket) October 7, 2025 "I was a part of the decision that KP never played again. Do I regret it? You make the decision because you think it's the right thing for England cricket at that time. Obviously you are a part of it, you are not overall responsible but there's loads of things. I don't know whether we got it right or wrong. What I do know was that it was handled badly from both sides," Cook reflected on the decision. The KP saga Pietersen was sacked by England after their 5-0 Ashes whitewash defeat early in 2014. Before that, the South African-born Pietersen also had a falling out with former teammate Andrew Strauss, the then director of cricket. The swashbuckling middle-order batsman was dropped for a test against South Africa in 2012 after sending provocative texts about Strauss to the opposition. As for you Alastair Cook - what a repulsive little weasel you've turned out to be. Aside from worst ever Ashes tour captain. #KPSacked — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 4, 2014 Former Middlesex opener Strauss was then forced to issue an apology in July 2014 after being caught on microphone making offensive remarks about Pietersen while on a commentary stint with Sky.
