NOTTINGHAM, May 24: England captain Andrew Strauss issued a warning to his squad on Thursday regarding the dangers of Twitter after Kevin Pietersen’s latest spat on the social networking site.

Pietersen, one of England’s leading batsmen, was fined an undisclosed sum Wednesday by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for going on to Twitter to question the credentials of former England international Nick Knight as a Test match commentator of Sky Sports.

Strauss, speaking on the eve of the second Test against the West Indies here at Trent Bridge, said that Twitter was a double-edged sword.

“I’m far too boring to use it!,” he joked. “There are always shades of grey with Twitter. It does a really good job of publicising the game but players can find themselves in hot water occasionally.

“There is a line they need to tread with regards to their conditions of employment. We have our own code of conduct and it is manageable.

“You will get occasions when people step out of line and they will be dealt with accordingly,” he said.

Pietersen reacted to being fined an undisclosed sum, part suspended for 12 months, by insisting he had nothing against Sky, whose commentary team includes several former England captains.

“Just so as you know, (Michael) Atherton, (Nasser) Hussain, (David) Gower and (Ian) Botham, legends,” Pietersen said as he walked into the pavilion after net practice here on Thursday.

Pietersen took to Twitter last week to question the credentials of Knight, who averaged just 23.96 in 17 Tests with one hundred, as a broadcaster.

“Can someone please tell me how Nick Knight has worked his way into the commentary box for the Tests? Ridiculous,” said Pietersen.

An ECB statement issued Wednesday said Pietersen had been fined for comments considered to be “prejudicial to the interests of the ECB and a breach of the England player conditions of employment in relation to clauses regarding public statements.”—AFP