KP: Warne was an arrogant idiot

English star batsman Kevin Pietersen has slammed and on and off again buddy Shane Warne calling him an ‘arrogant idiot’ and a ‘****head’ for the spin bowlers antics during the first Ashes Test in Brisbane.

Warne, who has just two test matches till his retirement, had thrown the ball to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, almost hitting Pietersen in the process. Pietersen was forced to deflect the ball away from his head with the bat and had got quite worked up about the incident.

“For a few mad seconds I thought, mates or not, I am never going to speak to that d***head again,” Pietersen told News of The World.

“I thought he was an arrogant Australian idiot of a cricketer.”

“It wasn’t an act. It was real. I was furious at the way he was behaving. I was taken aback and confused as to how anyone could behave like that to a mate. The Ashes battle of 2005 was never like that.”

Pietersen did admit however, that the tussle made for compulsive viewing and the pair had made up straight after the game.

“We chatted at the end of the Test and got over it,” he said.

“Everyone loved it. People were glued to their seats or TV sets and watched every ball. It’s sporting confrontation at the highest level with the hint, or rather threat, that it might just explode into something more.”

Still, Pietersen was full of praise for his friend, rival, mentor and (Hampshire) captain.

“Splitting with Simone must have made those summer months in England last year so tough, yet he took 40 wickets and scored nearly 300 runs.

“He’s a champion who plays his cricket hard and will do anything to win. He’s a nice guy, very generous, helpful, intelligent and street-wise.

“He’s got a magnificent cricket brain. You can see that when he skippers Hampshire.”

The Warne-Pietersen rivalry has captivated fans all over the world and is set to continue tomorrow in Warne’s final home game, at the MCG, where he aims to take his 700th wicket, becoming the first bowler to ever achieve such a feat.