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Alex Hales reprimanded by ECB for blackface photo

Alex Hales of England bats during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Semi Final match between India and England at Adelaide Oval - Alex Hales reprimanded by ECB for blackface photo - Mark Brake/Getty Images
Alex Hales of England bats during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Semi Final match between India and England at Adelaide Oval - Alex Hales reprimanded by ECB for blackface photo - Mark Brake/Getty Images

England’s T20 World Cup winner Alex Hales has been reprimanded after admitting a charge of bringing the game into disrepute for a 2009 photo of him in blackface.

The photo of Hales dressed as the rapper Tupac Shakur was published in the Sun last year, and the player – then in the international wilderness – issued an immediate apology. Nottinghamshire, his county, issued him with a formal warning earlier this year.

In August, Hales was charged by the Cricket Discipline Commission, the body that regulates the professional game sitting at “an arm’s length” from the England and Wales Cricket Board. The charge for a breach of ECB directive 3.3: bringing the game into disrepute.

Hales admitted the charge and was found guilty by the CDC, but no further sanction – such as a fine – was imposed. Hales has a history of offending that includes involvement in Ben Stokes’ Bristol brawl of 2017, which CDC said was taken into account.

Hales also spent three years out of the England setup having failed tests for recreational drugs, but returned ahead of the T20 World Cup. He played a key role in the team’s victory at the tournament and starred in the semi-final win over India.

The CDC also reprimanded Ateeq Javid, the former Warwickshire all-rounder for anti-semitic comments made in an exchange with Azeem Rafiq on Facebook in 2011. Rafiq, who has accused his former county Yorkshire of institutional racism, was himself found guilty of his part in the exchange last month.

Meanwhile, Mark Wood and Harry Brook will miss England’s Test training camp in Abu Dhabi next week ahead of the tour of Pakistan. The pair are the only players who travelled to Pakistan for T20s in September, Australia for the World Cup, and again to Pakistan for Tests, so have been given a 10-day stint at home to recharge.