India vs England: Rory Burns reprimanded by ECB for his Twitter clash with a female cricketer

Rory Burns has had a rough few months. His form with the bat was questioned as the opening batsman was dropped ahead of the third Test between India and England. After England lost this match, England women’s cricketer Alex Hartley put up a tweet joking about how the men’s team lost the match so that they can watch the women’s team match down in New Zealand.

Burns didn’t like the way the tweet was intended and tweeted back letting Hartley know that it was in a bad taste. Now, it seems that the England and Wales Cricket Board has taken care of the matter privately. England team head coach Chris Silverwood has revealed that the matter has been dealt with in all seriousness. 

The coach has given his statement after Burns’ tweet was deleted. Interestingly, the tweet by Burns was liked by Ben Stokes and James Anderson. Hartley explained later that the tweet was meant to be taken in good humour and nothing else. Silverwood’s comment suggests that the matter was dealt with, back in England. 

Both Rory Burns and Alex Hartley have been spoken to, says Report

A spokesperson of the ECB has given an update to ‘The Guardian’ saying that the board has reminded Burns’ his responsibility as a player. “We recognise the influence high profile people have on social media and have reminded Rory of his responsibilities,” said the ECB source and was quoted by the Guardian. 

Burns has a central Test contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board while Alex Hartley has a regional deal with Lancashire Cricket Club back in England. According to the reports which are emerging, both the players were spoken to by the respective directors for men’s and women’s cricket, Ashley Giles and Clare Connor. 

After struggling with the bat against spin in India, England opener Rory Burns would be disappointed to have got into this incident. He scored only 58 runs in the first two Tests against India. He did not play in the Sri Lankan tour and arrived for this important series. After underperforming, he was dropped in favour of Zak Crawley in the third Test. Crawley made a fifty in the first innings of the Test and is likely to keep his place for the fourth Test.