London: Former England captain Andrew Strauss has launched a strong attack on the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), saying sacking of former skipper Alastair Cook was “hugely disrespectful”.

The 29-year-old Cook, who was in dismal form, has been replaced as England One-Day International (ODI) captain by middle-order batsman Eoin Morgan for the World Cup starting Feb 14 in Australia and New Zealand, as per reports.

Strauss said it was the right decision and Cook would in time value the extra time he has to focus on Test cricket, but was likely to be “scarred” by the experience.

The former captain, who led England to become the No.1 Test side in the world, said it would have been a “dereliction” of the ECB’s duty if they had not acted in the face of the criticism Cook faced.

“What does leave an unsavoury taste in the mouth, though, is the way that the axe has been wielded. The ECB’s image has taken a battering every bit as significant as the reputation of some of its players over the past 12 months,” Strauss said.

He went on to criticise strongly the way the ECB handled the demotion.

“Refusing to talk about ‘s banishment from the team, allowing Cook to carry the can for the move, leaking the ‘dossier’ on Pietersen’s misdemeanours at the precise moment when they should have been taking the moral high ground, and now filtering the news of Cook’s demotion through to the Twitterspehere and other unofficial channels smacks of clumsy subterfuge or incompetence or both,” the 37-year-old Strauss said.

“It is hugely disrespectful to a captain who has given everything to the role.”