The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned players and team officials participating in the 2011 World Cup from tweeting during matches.
The decision, an initiative of ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit, intends to restrict the players and officials to be approached by people linked with illegal betting and ensure a corruption free World Cup.
Talking to Sydney Morning Herald about the ban, ICC spokesperson James Fitzgerald said: "When it comes to issues of corruption we prefer to err on the side of caution."
''We don't want to spoil anyone's fun but there is a chance that sensitive information could be passed on during matches in this way, even inadvertently, and we just feel that team managers' phones should be kept for operational purposes only.''
According to the report in the newspaper, the ban from ICC came in response to Australian team manager Steve Bernard's tweets which attracted more than 1,100 followers to his @stevebernard37 account in the past six months.
Fitzgerald said: "This recommendation is not confined to the Australia team manager but all teams in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011."
"And is certainly not a reaction to anything the Australia team manager has said or done in the past. It's merely a precaution and is not something we are overly worried about at this stage."
This ban comes exactly 10 days after Pakistan trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were suspended for periods ranging from five to 10 years after being found guilty of spot-fixing during the fourth Test against England last August.
However, the players and officials will be allowed to use twitter when the matches are not on.
The decision, an initiative of ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit, intends to restrict the players and officials to be approached by people linked with illegal betting and ensure a corruption free World Cup.
Talking to Sydney Morning Herald about the ban, ICC spokesperson James Fitzgerald said: "When it comes to issues of corruption we prefer to err on the side of caution."
''We don't want to spoil anyone's fun but there is a chance that sensitive information could be passed on during matches in this way, even inadvertently, and we just feel that team managers' phones should be kept for operational purposes only.''
According to the report in the newspaper, the ban from ICC came in response to Australian team manager Steve Bernard's tweets which attracted more than 1,100 followers to his @stevebernard37 account in the past six months.
Fitzgerald said: "This recommendation is not confined to the Australia team manager but all teams in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011."
"And is certainly not a reaction to anything the Australia team manager has said or done in the past. It's merely a precaution and is not something we are overly worried about at this stage."
This ban comes exactly 10 days after Pakistan trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were suspended for periods ranging from five to 10 years after being found guilty of spot-fixing during the fourth Test against England last August.
However, the players and officials will be allowed to use twitter when the matches are not on.
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