SHARJAH: England skipper Alastair Cook on Saturday said his spat with famous rival Shane Warne had been blown out of context as he insisted he now has a better relationship with the Aussie great.

Warne irked Cook with critical comments about his captaincy last year in a newspaper column when he suggested the Englishman should step down from his role.

Visibly upset at the comments, Cook hit back, saying: “Well something needs to be done because for the three years I've been England captain I have in my eyes been criticised for a hell of a lot of that.”

But a courtesy visit by Warne to help England spinner Adil Rashid in the nets in Sharjah on Friday ahead of the decisive third Test against Pakistan seemed to have eased out the tension.

“He was still fairly critical in the summer as well, as [former Australian captain] Michael Clarke's best mate he was always going to do that,” said Cook of Warne's comments during England's 3-2 Ashes win this year.

“Me and Warne's so-called spat, what I said was taken a little bit out of context — it was probably directed to the whole media, not just him, and people jumped on that.”

Cook said he talked to Warne on the phone last year, which helped ease the tension.

“We had a phone call for an hour, hour and a half, and have stayed in contact ever since. We have a better relationship than before the phone call and it was great of him to come down,” said Cook.

“It was great of him to come down and spend some time with Rash.”

Cook believes Warne's advice will help Rashid, who made his debut in the drawn first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.

“For a young leg-spinner to spend time with the greatest ever and have access to him, and for him to be so open with Adil, was brilliant,” said Cook of the meeting.

“Me listening to what he was telling Rash was fantastic and we are very grateful to him. I'm sure the Pakistanis were as well with Yasir, so he's just evening himself out,” said Cook.

Rashid will be key to England's plans as they seek to level the series in the third and final Test starting on Sunday.

“Hopefully Rash took something from it — I'm sure he did — and can continue on his improvement as a young leg-spinner in terms of experience at international level,” added Cook.

Cook also insisted that he has learnt with each game as captain, something which Warne had also conceded.

“Absolutely, I've learnt. No doubt. The more you do the job the better you get at it. You can better cope with everything that goes with it.”

England reconsider bowling options

Asked if England would play a third spinner in Samit Patel in place of Mark Wood who is rested with an ankle problem, Cook termed it a tough call.

England are 1-0 down after losing the second Test in Dubai and drawing the first in Abu Dhabi, so are seeking to level the series, as New Zealand did last year.

The Black Caps also used three spinners in Daniel Vettori, Mark Craig and Ish Sodhi to beat Pakistan by an innings, also in Sharjah for a 1-1 result.

“That's the major decision we have to make,” Cook said.

“Yesterday when we turned up they had just watered the wicket so it didn't give us too many clues.

“It will be really easy after the game in hindsight to see whether we've made the right decision but it will be a tough call.”

If England lose the series 2-0, they will slump to as low as sixth in Test rankings and Pakistan will jump to their best-ever second spot.

Cook, who hurt his groin during the second Test, said he was feeling better.

“I feel fine.... I've been confident since the second day after that game. The medical team worked pretty hard on me and I felt fine from there. Hopefully it will be as normal.”

England will also bring in James Taylor for Jos Butler to bolster their struggling batting.

“He's itching to play and you don't average 47-48 in first-class cricket without being a fine player,” said Cook of Taylor whose only two Tests were in 2012.

“One of his very strong points is that when he gets in he goes on to get big scores. We know how important first-innings runs are to set the game up.”

Cook warned England will have to be at their best to beat Pakistan, unbeaten in a series in United Arab Emirates (UAE), being forced to play away from home due to security fears since 2009.

“They [Pakistan] have a good record in the UAE, at all three grounds. We've got to play some good cricket. If we continue to play the way we have, we've got to earn the right to do that here.”

Cook admitted Pakistan's leg-spinner Yasir Shah will again be a major threat.

“He bowled very well. He's got good control and bowls it pretty quickly for a leg-spinner. He'll always take wickets because of the amount of overs he bowls in a four-man attack.

“Hopefully this game I won't get out with him.”

Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq ruled out the option of playing a third spinner in Bilal Asif, whose bowling action was cleared on Friday.

“We have been thinking about it but the pitch doesn't look like that sort of a turner where you can go with three spinners,” said Misbah.

Pakistan may bring in Azhar Ali to open the innings in place of Shan Masood and paceman Rahat Ali will replace fast bowler Imran Khan, ruled out with a hand injury.

Misbah said his team needed to remain focused.

“Obviously you have to think positively and we will do our best not leave any stone unturned and play well and win,” said Misbah, who deferred a decision to retire from Test cricket.

“Obviously your confidence is high after a win, so it's an important match for us and we will do our best to win it.”