File photo. Pope Francis arriving a general audience at St Peter's Square in The Vatican in November 2024. Photo: AFP / Alberto Pizzoli
England's top cricketing body has apologised for a joke about the pope that failed to hit the stumps.
Pope Francis - who has been in hospital battling double pneumonia - made a post on social media site X to mark Ash Wednesday, an important date in the Catholic calendar.
"The #Ashes remind us of who we are, which does us good," the 88-year-old wrote under his handle @Pontifex. "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."
The post caught the eye of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), likely because of the hashtag #Ashes - the name given to the regular men's cricket test series between England and Australia, a tradition not quite as old as the Catholic Church but old by sports standards, dating back to the 1880s.
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. #Lenthttps://t.co/o87vq2snzE
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 5, 2025
"Even @Pontifex loves The Ashes," ECB joked.
The comment was soon sent back to the pavillon.
"This was an ill-judged post and was swiftly deleted. We apologise for any offence," ECB said, according to BBC News.
Australia are the current holders of the Ashes, which will next be contested in a series beginning in November. The Australian women's team also beat England in their recent test, holding the women's Ashes.
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