Swann takes Pietersen feud to 'next level' on Australian radio

Former England spinner turned broadcaster Graeme Swann took his feud with Kevin Pietersen to new heights and showed off his skills as a mimic as he mocked his former team-mate on Australian radio on the eve of the critical third Ashes Test at Edgbaston.

Swann took on the persona of KP, exiled from the England side after a dramatic fall-out with the rest of the team, for a spoof interview with Triple M radio's cricket show, Willow Talk.

In the interview an idiotic 'Pietersen' mindlessly talks up his abilities as a batsman and insists that he is ready for an England recall. He also denies ever meeting anyone called 'Graeme Swann'.

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Unsurprisingly the impression was lapped up by former Test cricketers Matthew Hayden and Mark Waugh. They found Swann's send up of a player Australia still fear hilarious. But some in the Australian media seemed slightly taken aback that Swann would be quite so ruthless.

The spinner has been one of Pietersen's "more vocal critics" since the batsman's explosive autobiography exposed the rifts in the English dressing room, says Fox Sports. "But this is next level."

His "stuck-up version of Kevin Pietersen" was "satirical gold", chuckles Tom Decent of the Sydney Morning Herald.

Swann has been a breath of fresh air since joining the Test Match Special team early last year and the clip is undoubtedly funny, but one has to question the wisdom of reopening England's recent scars for the amusement of an Australian radio audience in the middle of The Ashes.

The clip will have been heard by Pietersen and players from both teams. It might earn Swann a guest spot on Dead Ringers, but it is not a good look for the BBC broadcaster, who fell out with Pietersen in 2011 and who once accused him of being "unprofessional".

It also drew the ire of fans on Twitter, and, unhelpfully, gave Pietersen's hoard of supporters fresh cause for agitation on the eve of the Edgbaston Test.