England Cricket apologises for ‘ill-judged’ Ashes tweet about Pope Francis

The England Cricket Board have been left with some egg on their face after an off colour social media post about Pope Francis.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has apologised for a social media post joking that Pope Francis “loves the Ashes”.

The 88-year-old Pope, who is critically ill battling pneumonia, released an Ash Wednesday message this week to mark the beginning of the holy season of Lent.

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Pope Francis wrote: “The #Ashes remind us of who we are, which does us good. It puts us in our place, smooths out the rough edges of our narcissism, brings us back to reality, and makes us more humble and open to one another. None of us is God; we are all on a journey. #Lent.”

The message was shared by @englandcricket account on Wednesday accompanied with the caption: “Even @Pontifex loves the Ashes.”

The post was quickly deleted and an ECB spokesman said: “This was an ill-judged post and was swiftly deleted. We apologise for any offence.”

Pope Francis has been hospital for nearly three weeks, recorded and released an audio message on Thursday thanking those who have been praying for his recovery, his voice breathless.

“May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you,” he said, taking laboured breaths as he spoke in his native Spanish, with some words fading away into nothing.

It was the first time the world has heard Francis’s voice since the 88-year-old was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14.

Ben Stokes and Pat Cummins after the 2023 drawn Ashes series in England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Pilgrims have been gathering in St Peter’s Square every evening to pray for the pope’s recovery. The hundreds of people there on Thursday applauded when they heard his message.

The Vatican said earlier Thursday that the Argentine, head of the worldwide Catholic Church since 2013, is in a “stable” condition.

There had been no repeat of Monday’s respiratory failure, it said, and the pope’s blood work “remained stable”.

During previous hospitalisations, the pope appeared on the Gemelli balcony for his weekly Angelus prayer at noon on Sundays.

But he has missed the last three, and no announcement has yet been made about whether he will make an appearance this weekend.

The Vatican confirmed Thursday that senior cardinal Michael Czerny would stand in for the pope and lead the mass this weekend marking the first Sunday of Lent.

The mass was also part of celebrations for the Jubilee 2025, a Holy Year led by the pope, dedicated this weekend to volunteers.

The pope was initially diagnosed with bronchitis but it developed into pneumonia in both lungs, sparking alarm across the globe.

Pope Francis has been in hospital with respiratory issues. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP)

On February 22, he suffered a “prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis” and on February 28 had “an isolated crisis of bronchospasm” — a tightening of the muscles that line the airways in the lungs.

On Monday, Francis “experienced two episodes of acute respiratory failure, caused by a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm”, according to the Vatican.

Francis’s health has regularly led to speculation, particularly among his critics, as to whether he could resign like his predecessor, Benedict XVI.

After Australia retained cricket’s Ashes in England in 2023 with a 2-2 series result, the two old enemies are set to resume hostilities this summer.

The Aussies have held the Ashes since the 2017-18 series and England haven’t won a Test Down Under since the 2010-11 series win.

England were knocked out of the Champions Trophy before the knockout stages, prompting Jos Buttler to resign as ODI captain.

— With AFP

Originally published as England Cricket apologises for ‘ill-judged’ Ashes tweet about Pope Francis