Cricket Australia to not ban Twitter or Facebook
Cricket http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 has decided not to go the English way. When quizzed about whether they will go on to ban the use of social networking websites like Twitter and Facebook, CA said that they have no intentions of doing so.
The captain of the Australian cricket team, Ricky Ponting said that the social networking websites was a way by which the players could remain in touch with the fans. He also added that it was a good way to promote the sport. Ponting had recently joined the social networking brigade by opening his account on Facebook.com. Vice-captain Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 already has around 40,000 followers on Twitter.com.
Ponting said that as a cricketer, one of his roles was to ensure that the game was spread across the world. He said, “If we can be using those social networks the way we can - and that brings people closer to the game and people through the gates – then that’s what it’s all about,”
Ponting also said that the fans also needed to understand how the players were off the field once the game was over. He added that the players should be allowed to express themselves in any way, provided they used common sense.
Not only Ponting, but also Cricket Australia’s media guy, Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Brown-c48671, said that he was fully with the Australian captain on this one. He said the use of the social networking sites could only assist in spreading the game further, and that was good for the sport.
Brown added that he had heard Clarke say that he had more than 40k followers. He said, “I think it’s important we are growing our game, embracing the future, and young people are a critical part of our future,”
Earlier, it was reported that the English cricket board had set up plans to ban social networking websites like Facebook.com and Twitter.com. Many of the English cricketers like Steve Finn, Kevin Pietersen and James Anderson have active Twitter accounts and share a combined total of around 150,000 users.
The reason behind this thought seems to be stemming from an incident that took place in an Under-19 game, when the captain of the England Under-19 team, Azeem Rafiq called his coach a “useless ****”. This happened after the captain was given the boot from the team for an international tour.
It has been reported that the ECB management will look to introduce a new clause in the players’ contract for next year, where they will not be allowed to use any such social networking sites while they are involved in an international series.
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