Cricket news 2025, England and Wales Board apologise over Pope Francis Ashes joke

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has been forced to apologise over a joke about Pope Francis.

The 88-year-old Pope has been under medical care for a number of weeks and is reportedly battling a respiratory condition.

This week was Ash Wednesday, which is one of the most revered dates on the catholic calendar.

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The Pope's X account posted to mark the day.

"The Ashes remind us of who we are, which does us good," it read.

"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.

Pope Francis and the English cricket team. Getty

"None of us is God; we are all on a journey."

Under that post, the official ECB account commented, "Even @Pontifex loves The Ashes".

It was a cheeky play on words regarding the iconic Test cricket series between England and Australia, for which the prize is an urn of ashes.

The ECB later deleted the comment and apologised.

"This was an ill-judged post and was swiftly deleted. We apologise for any offence," England's governing cricket body said.

Ironically, England has not won an Ashes series in a decade.

The women's team was embarrassed by Australia in their multi-format series Down Under earlier this year.

The men's team was most recently knocked out of the Champions Trophy by Afghanistan last week.

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