CRICKET FUNDA

England batsman Kevin Pietersen has branded groundsmen at the Adelaide Oval "pathetic" after a practice session before the second Ashes test against Australia was forced indoors because of rain.

Pietersen launched his outburst on his Twitter account after showers prevented England from taking a nets session outside on Wednesday, two days before the start of the match.

Pietersen tweeted "what should a groundsmen make sure he does 2days out from a test match????" followed by "cover the nets when it rains maybe???" and then finally: "PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The South African-born batsman was fined in September for making a profane comment on Twitter after discovering he had been dropped from England's limited-overs squads.