Broad in Twitter 'war of words' with 'incited' Oz fans

England bowler Stuart Broad has reportedly engaged in a public Twitter battle with Australian cricket fans even as it was revealed that he and his teammates will receive extra security during the Ashes series in Australia.

According to the Courier Mail, England will step up security for the return Ashes series because they fear that Australian coach Darren Lehmann's inflammatory call for the Australian public to 'make Broad cry' could lead to attacks on their players.

The report said that the fight began when Broad wrote on Twitter that he had accepted an apology from Lehmann over his cheat comments, following which a throng of Australian fans attacked him, with one tweeting that he could not 'care less' and another tweet saying that Broad's latest tweets are unlikely to endear him to Australians.

However, Broad hit back and called his attackers 'pathetic hypocrites', and taunted that they should go home along with their players when they lost.

The ECB have already voiced concerns over the 'incitement' of the Australian public to show aggression towards Broad by Lehmann and Andy Flower, the England team director, said that steps would be taken to try to ensure the players do not become targets when they defend the Ashes.

England will turn to their highly regarded security advisor Reg Dickason for guidance when they fly to Australia on October 24, the report added.