Raina blames it on the "nephew"

Suresh Raina has become the latest of a long list of cricketers who have got into trouble over their tweets - but his response might be the cue for future explanations. Minutes after Pakistan's semi-final loss to Sri Lanka in the World Twenty20, a tweet from his account mocked Pakistan for the manner of their defeat.

Expectedly, the tweet caused a furore over social media and it was several hours before Raina responded - by blaming his "nephew".

Smart phones r dangerous. Discovered it last night after my nephew posted random tweets. I'm a sportsman and would never disrespect.

— Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) October 5, 2012

Cue a host of re-tweets and even a "Raina's nephew" twitter handle with tweets about the "uncle's" exploits. Kevin Pietersen may well be wondering why he hadn't thought of something similar when asked about the controversial messages he allegedly sent to South African players.