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

A message on the X account of the 88-year-old Pope, who has been in hospital since February, was posted to mark Ash Wednesday.

In response, the England Cricket account wrote: “Even @Pontifex loves The Ashes”. The post has since been deleted.

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

On Wednesday, the account of Pope Francis posted: “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.”

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period in which Christians prepare for Easter.