Essex sack South African fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe

English county Essex terminated the contract of their South African fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe after the player criticised the club on a social networking site.

The South African, who had a wretched run of form, picked up just five wickets from three matches and the humiliation of being demoted to the second team prompted him to criticise Essex on Twitter.

Tsotsobe voiced his frustration Monday on the social networking site saying it was "impossible to work in this environment" and describing his time at Essex as "the worst two months of my life".

After playing for the seconds team Tuesday, he was summoned to Wednesday and his contract was immediately terminated.

"We've tried to make him as welcome as possible, but now we've decided to cut our losses. For him to say that is quite damaging. Everyone's made him feel really welcome. He's not a trouble-causer, but he's not a sociable bloke. He's declined a lot of offers to come out to dinner. In the dressing room he spends most of his time with his headphones on listening to music," Essex coach Paul Grayson was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.

"I think he was more unhappy with his performance than with us. He's not been up to the standard of a county professional, and he's not helped to improve," Grayson added.