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Former England captain Alastair Cook is undoubtedly one of the best Test cricketers to have ever graced the game. The left-handed batsman was a gritty cricketer who had the ability to score runs in difficult conditions. He was also quite a silent character on the field and preferred to do most of the talking with his bat. Surprisingly, three years after his retirement, fans got to see an angry side of Cook which was very rarely seen during his playing days.

It all happened during BT Sport's coverage of the ongoing 4th Ashes Test. With most of Day 1 washed out due to rain, the guests - Alastair Cook and Moeen Ali were discussing Joe Root's captaincy. This is when Ali tried to make a comparison between the leadership qualities of Root and Cook but the normal discussion soon turned into a heated debate.

Here is the conversation between Cook and Ali:

Ali: Rooty has more of an emotional attachment with the players, he spends more time with the players.

Cook: Are you just criticizing my captaincy?

Ali: I am a little bit, yeah.

Cook laughs with an astonished look on his face

Ali: They’re both very different, I did do better with the bat under Cooky but with the ball, I was better with Rooty.

Cook: So you might criticize me but I’ve never dropped you, how many times did Rooty drop you?

Ali: That’s true but you also batted me from 1 to 9 in my first year of international cricket.

Cook: I was giving you a chance; I couldn’t work whether you were a tail-ender or an opening batsman so I just to find the perfect role.

The presenter calmed things down with a bit of laughter

Ali: Just to go back to my point, Rooty was a little bit more involved with the players, in my opinion. Not that Cooky doesn’t care but I think Rooty is a bit more ‘arm over the shoulder’ kind of guy.

Cook: I’m not sure I will take this anymore, I’ve just come back from a nice holiday and I’ve walked straight into Moeen Ali off his long run.

Watch the video here:

After their side's miserable show in the Ashes so far, the ugly spat between two former England Test cricketers will certainly add to the misery of their fans.