'Maverick Kevin' Pietersen engages in 'war of words' with 'Big Cheese' Matt Prior

Sacked England batsman Kevin Pietersen has slammed his former teammate Matt Prior and branded him a 'Big Cheese' in response to Prior's suggestion the England dressing room would be a better place without their flamboyant star.

Prior had already been accused of having 'stabbed Pietersen in the back' during the winter Ashes by British TV host Piers Morgan, a friend of the South Africa-born batsman.

According to Sport24, Pietersen, who was axed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) following the team's disastrous Ashes tour, mocked Prior's recent form and labelled him as the 'Big Cheese' on Twitter and suggested that Prior should focus on improving his game instead of wasting his time on 'Q and As'.

The report mentioned that the 'tit-for-tat' exchange between Pietersen and the Sussex wicketkeeper appeared to hint at the simmering disharmony which has reportedly existed within the England ranks.

After one of the replies to Pietersen's initial tweet urged him to 'be strong', the maverick batsman replied that 'he is always strong', adding that 'the Big Cheese won't be happy in the Sussex nets'.

When another Twitter user suggested Pietersen's initial comment was 'why KP isn't in the England set up any more', the batsman said 'neither is The Big Cheese Prior', the report added.