Stuart Broad and Kevin Pietersen's night out in Adelaide days before the second Ashes Test did not breach team protocol, the England and Wales Cricket Board has said.

Broad and Pietersen were pictured - reportedly in the Zhivago nightclub - late on Sunday evening before preparations begin in earnest for the second match of five, which starts on Thursday. Both featured in the 381-run defeat in the first Test in Brisbane and will be central to England's hopes of battling back from a 1-0 deficit.

When asked about the players' late night out, an England spokesman made it clear Broad and Pietersen had not broken any curfew rules.

"They are free to do as they please - they are grown men," she said.

"There has been no breach of team protocol."

Broad and Pietersen were among four Test regulars rested for the two-day match against a Cricket Australia Chairman's XI in Alice Springs, which finished on Saturday.

They embarked on their night out after arriving in Adelaide from Australia's red centre, where their flight south was delayed by three-and-a-half hours.

England's first official practice session before the second Test is due to take place at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday afternoon.

The pair's excursion into central Adelaide has naturally attracted interest from the Australian media, with the city's Telegraph newspaper reporting: "Ashes villains Kevin Pietersen and Stuart Broad have hit Adelaide's bars - instead of the nets - with a vengeance, despite being belted by Australia in Brisbane's Ashes opener.

"Having rested during England's weekend tour match in Alice Springs, superstars Pietersen and Broad kicked up their heels to the wee hours on Monday morning at city club Zhivago., on Currie St.

"The Poms were rolled by 381 runs at the Gabba but Broad and Pietersen enjoyed a liquid preparation four days ahead of the Test.

"The late-night tipple might incur a raised eyebrow from England coach and former South Australian batsman Andy Flower, a noted stickler for discipline and immaculate preparation."