Alastair Cook: Kevin Pietersen row springs to mind as England captain watches Australian cricket turn toxic

ALASTAIR COOK could be forgiven for watching with a gleeful and knowing smile as a string of Aussie players attempt to trash each other’s reputations.

The rivers of vitriol running through Australian cricket – and especially in the direction of ex-skipper Michael Clarke – have sent shock waves through the game Down Under.

Words such as “cancer” and “tumour” and “toxic” have been used to describe the atmosphere around Aussie dressing-room of recent years.

It must remind Cook of the bust-ups he and other players had with Kevin Pietersen.

The torrent of accusations come as Australia face crises on the field following a 3-0 Test whitewash in Sri Lanka and a 5-0 one-day whitewash in South Africa.

England leave for the 2017-18 Ashes tour almost exactly a year from now.

The latest revelations come from fast bowler Mitchell Johnson who said in a TV interview: “It wasn’t a team. There were different little factions going on and it was very toxic.

“It just built very slowly but everyone could see it, everyone could feel it and nothing was being done at that time. So it wasn’t a very enjoyable place to be and you’re supposed to be enjoying yourself when you’re playing for your country.

“It was a pretty bad experience, bad time, a couple of us didn’t want to play. Even some of the young guys coming through could see it a mile away and they didn’t enjoy it and said, ‘State cricket’s so much more fun.’”

SunSport reported yesterday how Johnson felt like hitting Pietersen during the 2009 Ashes but his relationship with Clarke seemed even worse.

Johnson, banned by Clarke and coach Mickey Arthur during the ‘Homeworkgate’ scandal of 2013, added: “I didn’t take it too well. I guess the relationship was pretty strained and I definitely felt like an outsider.”

Arthur was sacked shortly before the 2013 Ashes series and revealed that Clarke described all-rounder Shane Watson as a “cancer” in the team.

Clarke responded last week: “No, I didn’t say that. I said there were a group of players that were like a tumour and, if we didn’t fix it, it would turn into a cancer.”

All rather unpleasant language to be using about team-mates.

Clarke quit international cricket after last summer’s Ashes series while Johnson retired from playing for Australia in November 2015 and Watson stood down earlier this year.

Clarke was a polarising figure with some players accusing him of poor leadership, selfishness and seemingly more worried about socialising with celebrities than his own team-mates.

But he enjoyed plenty of success including leading Australia to their 5-0 hammering of England in the 2013-14 Ashes and the 2015 World Cup triumph.

Former batsman Simon Katich infamously grabbed him by the throat in the Sydney dressing-room in 2009 following a row about singing the team song.

In his own autobiography published this month, Clarke claimed he and Katich had made up and now had a decent relationship.

But Katich insisted that was nonsense and described their relationship as “non-existent” and added that “we’ve hardly spoken since.”

Some of the most astonishing claims come from former quick bowler Brett Geeves, who was summoned to Australia’s tour of South Africa in 2009 because of injuries.

Geeves says he walked past Clarke and his then girlfriend Lara Bingle at a pedestrian crossing and Clarke totally blanked him.

He recalled: “They couldn’t miss me. I could have been crawling along the ground in full camo and they would have seen me. As we got closer, I began to take my headphones out so I could say ‘g’day.’

“What happened next makes me glad I possess a sense of humour that thrives on socially awkward encounters, because Michael and Lara walked straight past me without any tip of the cap, no smile, zero acknowledgment. I think they may have turned around when I burst out laughing, but I can’t be sure.”

Geeves also said he was not met at the airport when he joined the tour, had to take a taxi to the ground and, when he finally arrived, a number of players asked: “What the hell are you doing here?”