Andrew Strauss apologizes to Kevin Pietersen for derogatory comment

England's former captain Andrew Strauss (L) is seen in the commentary box during the Lord's bicentenary match between the MCC and Rest of the world at Lords Cricket ground in London on July 5, 2014. Strauss found himself involved in a fresh row regarding Kevin Pietersen after making highly offensive comments about his former Test colleague while broadcasting on Saturday, July 5, 2014.

Former England captain Andrew Strauss has publicly apologised after being caught on air calling Kevin Pietersen a c*** during the Sky Sports coverage of the Lord’s bicentenary match between Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and Rest of the World XI (RoW) on 5 July.

Strauss, of the belief that he was off air during a commerical break for the United Kingdom viewers, used the offensive c-word to refer to his former teammate in a conversation with fellow commentator Nick Knight. Unfortunately for him, it was broacast to Fox Sports online Australian viewers, to whom the service was unbroken, thereby leading to a controversy.

The Telegraph quoted the 37-year-old as saying: "I apologise unreservedly, particularly to Kevin Pietersen. I am mortified and profusely sorry."

Regretting the incident, Sky Sports tweeted:

Earlier comments were made during a break of play which were heard overseas. We apologise for the language used.

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 5, 2014

Pietersen did not have the greatest of outing for RoW XI, scoing only 10 runs before being outfoxed by Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, as his team lost the match by 7 wickets, courtesy of MCC’s Aaron Finch, who scored a stunning 145-ball 181 to chase down 294 in 45.5 overs.

Made the scapegoat of England's Ashes whitewash earlier this year in Australia, he was labelled as a destructive force in the England dressing room by the England Cricket Board and subsequently axed from the team.

Ironically, during Strauss captaincy tenure, back in 2012, Strauss wanted Pietersen to be dropped from the team after the latter confessed to sending 'provocative' messages regarding Strauss to South African players in the midst of a Test series between the two sides. Pietersen was then dropped and only called back after issuing an apology for his behaviour.