Stuart Broad apologises for UK minimum wage Twitter comment

Stuart Broad insists his controversial tweet about the the minimum wage was an innocent observation rather than a response to Kevin Pietersen.

The England and Notts cricketer told his followers: "I've heard if you earn minimum wage in England you're in the top 10% earners in the world. #stay #humble."

Broad found himself at the centre of a social media storm following the post on Tuesday evening, and later apologised for any offence taken in two subsequent messages, below.

The 24 year-old's tweet was interpreted by some as an attempted riposte to former England team-mate Pietersen, who last week called for "muppets" in county cricket who earn "18 grand, 15 grand" to find alternative employment.

Broad described Pietersen's claims as "misguided" but was keen to stress there was no hidden meaning to his own words.

"It's a very important role in cricket, that development role, no one's going to start on big wages or top wages, you have to earn your stripes.

"I think that (£15k-£18k) is actually below the minimum cap anyway so he's a bit off the mark," Broad explained.

The 28 year-old reiterated his earlier Twitter clarification regarding his minimum wage comments, offering one of the more unlikely explanations - planet size.

"I was genuinely fascinated by the size of the world. It was genuinely innocent, sorry to offend anyone if anyone did take offence to it."