Rory Burns reprimanded after Twitter tussle with England’s Alex Hartley

England opener Rory Burns was admonished privately after getting into a Twitter battle with cricketer Alex Hartley. England coach Chris Silverwood confirmed the development, claiming the matter was dealt with strictly.

The coach's statement comes after Rory Burns took a dig at Alex Hartley in a now-deleted tweet. The same was liked by England players Ben Stokes and James Anderson. While Alex Hartley clarified later that her tweet, which talked about England’s ten-wicket loss, was all in good humour, it triggered a fiery debate on social media.

While speaking to the media, Chris Silverwood said the issue was being “dealt with back in England”. Later, an ECB spokesperson gave another update to the Guardian.

“We recognise the influence high profile people have on social media and have reminded Rory of his responsibilities,” said the ECB source.

Rory Burns holds a Test central contract, and Alex Hartley has a regional deal with Lancashire. It is understood that both cricketers have been spoken to by Ashley Giles and Clare Connor, the respective directors for men’s and women’s cricket in England.

The incident caps off a disappointing tour for England opener Rory Burns. The batsman struggled at the top during the first two Tests against India, amassing just 58 runs at an average of 14.50. He was subsequently dropped in favour of Zak Crawley at Ahmedabad and is unlikely to return for the fourth Test.

What happened between England’s Rory Burns and Alex Hartley?

Nice of the England boys to get this test match finished just before England Women play tonight 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽Catch them on @btsportcricket #INDvENG #bbccricket #NZvENG

— Alexandra Hartley (@AlexHartley93) February 25, 2021

It all started after Alex Hartley posted a sly tweet after England’s humiliating loss to India in the Ahmedabad Test. The cricketer, who is currently covering England Women’s games against New Zealand for BT Sport, asked fans to tune into the game after the men’s team lost in India.

But the tweet didn’t go down well with many, as Twitter erupted with criticism directed at Hartley. Some suggested that Alex Hartley was rejoicing at the loss, claiming the men’s team wouldn’t have done the same if England Women lost in a similar fashion.

Average tweet. Don’t think any of the men’s team would have been “👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼” if the women lost. https://t.co/4dgW7NMEeM

— Ben Duckett (@BenDuckett1) February 25, 2021

In a now-deleted tweet, Rory Burns replied saying Alex Hartley’s message was in poor taste.

“Very disappointing attitude considering all the ‘boys’ do to support the Women’s game,” said Rory Burns in a now-deleted Tweet.

With her tweet resulting in a heavy backlash, Alex Hartley later claimed that her tweet was taken out of context.

“Think it’s been taken the wrong way/out of context. No offence was meant. We are all Test match fans,” said Alex Hartley.