England Test players left unhappy by Hartley’s Twitter post
PLAYERS from England’s men and women’s cricket teams have had an online row following Alex Hartley’s cheeky response to Joe Root’s side suffering a two-day Test defeat to India.
The Lancashire and North West Thunder player took to Twitter to advertise the women’s one-day international clash with New Zealand after the England men’s side, having been bowled out for 112 and 81, had collapsed to a 10-wicket defeat in Ahmedabad.
“Nice of the England boys to get this Test match finished just before England Women play tonight,” Hartley wrote with four clapping emojis. “Catch them on @btsportcricket.”
Hartley, who co-hosts a podcast with England and Lancashire team-mate Kate Cross, is not part of the touring party in New Zealand, but her comments did not go down well with some of Root’s squad in India.
Batsman Rory Burns, in a tweet liked by Lancashire’s James Anderson and Ben Stokes but since deleted, wrote: “Very disappointing attitude considering all the “boys” do to support the women’s game.”
Nottinghamshire batsman Ben Duckett, who won four caps for England and played his last Test in 2016, joined in by calling it an ‘average tweet’.
Duckett said none of the men’s team would have been clapping if the women had lost.
Hartley replied to Burns’ tweet by saying: “Think it’s been taken the wrong way/out of context. No offence was meant. We are all Test match fans.”
Both are understood to have been spoken to since by Ashley Giles and Clare Connor, the directors of cricket for the men’s and women’s game.
An ECB spokesperson later told the Guardian: “We recognise the influence high-profile people have on social media, and have reminded Rory of his responsibilities.”