Cardiff, July 12 - England batsman Kevin Pietersen and Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson were involved in a heated argument before the start of the final day's play in the first Ashes Test here Sunday.

The tiff took place when Pietersen struck a ball that landed where the Australian players were warming up and missed Johnson narrowly.

The Australian bowler confronted Pietersen, and the duo were seen standing against each other and exhanging words before Johnson was pulled away by Stuart Clark.

The incident completely rattled Pietersen. When the day's match began, he played some rash strokes during his 16 minutes' stay at the crease before his stumps were flattened by fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus.

Pietersen edged Johnson just short of second slip and also survived a leg-before shout from Peter Siddle and was dismissed for just eight runs.