[ad_1]
England batsman Rory Burns has earned a private reprimand following an unedifying online feud with women’s cricketer Alex Hartley following the Test team’s heartbreaking two-day loss to India.
Burns, who was eliminated in the 10 wicket loss in Ahmedabad, was offended by international spinner Hartley after she jokingly tweeted: “Good that the England boys finish this test match just before the women of England play tonight, “followed by four cheering emojis.
In a later deleted tweet, which was liked by her teammates Jimmy Anderson and Ben Stokes at the time, Burns replied: “Very disappointing attitude considering all that the ‘boys’ do to support the women’s game.”
This led Hartley, who is not part of the England team currently in New Zealand, to insist: “I think he has gone the wrong way / out of context. It was not intended to offend. We are all fans of test matches. “
However, this didn’t stop others from piling up, including criticism from Nottinghamshire’s Ben Duckett and Samit Patel, as well as Durham’s Chris Rushworth.
Burns has a core test contract, while Hartley, currently resuming for BT Sport’s coverage of the women’s tour, has a regional agreement in Lancashire. It is understood that Ashley Giles and Clare Connor, the respective directors of cricket for the men’s and women’s game, have spoken to both since then.
Chris Silverwood, the men’s team head coach, said the issue was being “dealt with in England”, and an ECB spokesman later told The Guardian: “We recognize the influence that high-profile people have on social media. and we have reminded Rory of his responsibilities. “
The exchange sparked a strong reaction online. Some fans pointed to Hartley’s poor choice of words towards a pro teammate after a loss, and questioned how it would have been received if the roles had been reversed, while others pointed to the disparity in pay and profile for the two teams.
The Spin – Sign up and receive our weekly cricket email.
Speaking after the women of England claimed a seven-wicket win over New Zealand in Dunedin to seal their ODI series with a game to spare, all-rounder Nat Sciver said: “I didn’t see the tweet, but I did hear from some of the girls. .
“Maybe it was not the best time, if we had lost a test match in two days, I would have been quite angry, but that’s Twitter for you.”
