In an interview with the BBC’s Test Match Special, broadcast at lunch on the first day at The Oval, Cook also said he had originally wanted to leave the door open for Pietersen’s return.

But he also admitted he was relieved when Andrew Strauss was appointed director of England cricket and ended the uncertainty that had hung over Pietersen’s future under Paul Downton.

Cook was honest but cautiously optimistic about his relationship with Pietersen.

“I haven’t spoken to him since that day. But I think time is a great healer. We spent a lot of time together and created some amazing memories.

“The thing is, we never fell out. Since then, the internet has fallen out for us. As two blokes, if you take cricket out of it, we have never fallen out.”