England players face Twitter ban

England's cricketers are facing a ban from using Twitter and Facebook while on England duty, according to the Mail on Sunday.

Twitter has become a prominent part of international cricketers' off-field presence with England's Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Kevin Pietersen and Steven Finn attracting almost 150,000 followers between them.

But while most tweets vary between mundane updates about things such as eating habits to more amusing banter between players, the England management see them as a potentially divisive influence which could lead to dressing-room secrets being revealed.

Yorkshire's Azeem Rafiq stirred controversy when he reacted on Twitter after being dropped from the England Under-19s side by writing that coach John Abrahams was was a 'useless w****r'. The outburst led to a £500 fine and a one-month ban from all cricket and the England management clearly don't want to risk similar embarrassments.

The Professional Cricketers' Association has defended the tweeters, arguing that the existing regulations are sufficient but the England management has the support of captain Andrew Strauss, and appears determined to write a clause in the new central contracts for 2010-11 banning players from tweeting while on England duty.

The ECB will also insist that, in order to qualify for an England contract, players must sign for a county club, forcing Pietersen to find a new home in time for the next domestic season or go freelance.