“Every person thought it was my decision and I felt I bore the brunt of that, unfairly in my personal opinion”

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England opening batsman Alastair Cook has admitted that he was “let down” by the way in which the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) handled Kevin Pietersen’s sacking.

Following England’s 5-0 whitewashing at the hands of Australia in the 2013/14 Ashes series, Pietersen was dismissed from the national team and hasn’t returned since.

Speaking about the whole saga, Cook, who relinquished the Test captaincy on Monday, conceded that it was a very difficult situation to deal with.

“It was obviously a big part of my captaincy. I felt like it wasn’t handled particularly well from the ECB,” Cook told Sky Sports pundit Nasser Hussain at Lord’s on Tuesday. “I was the lightning rod for it. Every person thought it was my decision and I felt I bore the brunt of that, unfairly in my personal opinion.

“As much power as you have as the England captain, you don’t get the ultimate decision on that thing. I was part of the decision making – as six or seven others were – but I didn’t have the final trigger.

“I felt I was the only person who made the decision. I felt a little bit let down by the ECB in that one period where they let me out to dry a little bit.”

When asked whether the entire debacle left a permanent blemish on his tenure as skipper, which lasted a record-breaking 59 Tests, the 32-year-old said: “I don’t think it will. It might do! The decision was made being part of that group. I have to live with some of that responsibility.

“But that’s all gone now. It’s part and parcel of the challenges of being captain. I can’t say now I have any regrets. I’ve tried – whether I’ve got it right or wrong – to do what’s best for English cricket at that time.

“In every decision, whether it’s to have another slip or short leg, I’ve always gone back to what I think is best for English cricket. That was how I lived my 59 English caps.”