English Cricket Board Issues Apology Following Pope Francis Joke Amid Ashes Enthusiasm

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has issued an apology following a controversial post related to Pope Francis.

The 88-year-old pontiff has been receiving medical treatment for several weeks, reported to be struggling with a respiratory condition.

This week marked Ash Wednesday, one of the most significant dates in the Catholic calendar.

The Pope’s account on X acknowledged the day with a post that stated:

“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.”

In response to the Pope’s post, the ECB’s official account cheekily commented, “Even @Pontifex loves The Ashes,” making light of the much-anticipated Test cricket series between England and Australia, for which the coveted trophy is an urn containing ashes.

However, the ECB later retracted the comment and publicly apologised.

“This was a poor choice of wording and it was promptly removed. We apologise for any distress caused,” the governing body of English cricket stated.

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

Earlier this year, the women’s team faced disappointment against Australia in their multi-format series Down Under.

Most recently, the men’s team was eliminated from the Champions Trophy by Afghanistan just last week.