Cook backs ECB demand for apology from Channel Nine over 'Hot Spot' report

England captain Alastair Cook has reportedly added his voice to the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) demand for an apology from the Australian broadcaster over the Hot Spot cheating report which linked Kevin Pietersen's name.

According to the Guardian, Cook has ramped up the rhetoric in England's row with Channel Nine, set to rumble into the return Ashes series this winter, and has demanded an apology and explanation for the report.

According to Cook, the report, which claimed that Pietersen's dismissal in the third Test at Old Trafford was at the centre of an ICC investigation centred on the use of silicone tape on bats to avoid detection by Hot Spot, is a 'blatant fabrication' for which the broadcaster should offer an apology.

However, instead of apologising, Nine broadcasted a follow-up report claiming that the founder of Hot Spot Warren Brennan had met with the ICC's general manager of cricket Geoff Allardice to express his concerns about the use of silicone tape.

The report further said that the fact that Nine will be the host broadcaster with responsibility for providing the necessary technology for the third umpire to implement the Decision Review System (DRS) in the winter Ashes, will increase the stakes in any legal battle with the ECB.

The report also said that there might be a chance that the Hot Spot thermal imaging technology at the centre of the current row may not be used in the return series, at least in its current form, with both teams having major reservations about its reliability.