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There was a kid at one of my old schools called Harry Hastings. It might have been something to do with his heritage given his name, 1066 and all that, but the kid was a crack shot when it came to using the plastic ruler like a sling shot. He was brilliant, he could hit the back of a teacher's head from 15 metres which quickly gained him hero status. It was a sad, sad day for us all when he was banned from using a plastic ruler and was instead given a rigid wooden one and told "if you can't use a plastic ruler sensibly then you are not using it at all!"

The ECB might have to follow the lead of stressed out inner-city teachers and come down hard on habitual offenders that can't use things sensibly. Kevin Pietersen has had an awesome second Test, notching a double hundred and taking that vital wicket with the last ball before stumps on day four. However, he was once again making headlines for all the wrong reasons prior to the Test getting underway, due to his carelessness with a hand held device and a Twitter application.

He openly criticised the new curator of the Adelaide Oval, Damian Hough, calling his failure to ensure that the players could practice outdoors "PATHETIC!" "What should a groundsman make sure he does 2 days out from a test match???? Cover the nets when it rains maybe???" Hardly a tweet designed to enhance the relationship between the two countries vying for Ashes glory!

It's not the first time that KP has let himself down on Twitter. There was his infamous outburst when he was left out of the One Day side against Pakistan and he vented his frustrations in the public domain. And that is the crux of the matter, the problem isn't that Pietersen felt bitter and betrayed when left out of the England side or that he has the hump with an Aussie groundsman, it's the fact that he has put that information into the public domain.

Tweeting is a dangerous game (ask One Show host Jason Manford) because there is a cosiness about it, it's almost like sending a text to a mate and we all know what we put in texts to our trusted pals. Unfortunately, followers on Twitter are not your mates. In fact in Pietersen's case he probably knows only a very few of them personally.

Once he has pressed the 'tweet' button that's it, his thoughts are out there for the whole world to see. There's no time for quiet reflection, no thought given to any repercussions, it's a simple case of composing a short message, chuck in a couple of expletives and put the world to rights. Totally crackers and guaranteed to incur the wrath of team-mates and opponents alike as well as ensuring that he is about as popular with Australian sports fans as the FIFA World Cup bid delegates!

Enough is surely enough and the ECB need to do something about it. They can't single Pietersen out for special treatment and ban only him from using Twitter, they will have to impose a blanket ban on all of the squad. It might seem a little extreme but there is no way that the ECB would allow any of the players to give a TV interview and be disrespectful to opposing officials or even their own selectors. There really is no difference between that and putting out an offensive Tweet.

KP showed that he didn't need an outdoor practice session with an innings that has silenced his critics and will do wonders for his confidence. It was pointed out in this column before the Ashes started that he could turn out to be a steal at a big price to be the top batsman of the series. His odds have shortened considerably but even so 7.0 should be attainable which is still tempting.

As for the Twitter application it's the same as a plastic ruler - dangerous if not used sensibly!


By Frank Gregan

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