Alex Hales and Ateeq Javid reprimanded for historic social media posts

Neither Hales nor Javid have been fined nor punished further, having already submitted apologies for their actions

England batter Alex Hales has been reprimanded by the Cricket Discipline Commission over a historic social media post.

Hales apologised last November after a photograph from 2009 came to light showing him in blackface at a New Year's Eve party 12 years ago dressed up as his music hero, Tupac Shakur.

At the time, the Nottinghamshire batter defended himself by saying he was not aware at the time of the offence that would be caused.

In a video statement, he said: "It was incredibly reckless and foolish on my behalf and so I want to apologise for that, apologise to the club for the embarrassment it would have caused them. My 20s was full of mistakes like that. Reckless mistakes off the field that let down family, let down teammates, let down friends. Some of those decisions I will regret for the rest of my life."

Hales, who played a key role in England's T20 World Cup win last week following his return to the national setup, admitted breaching England and Wales Cricket Board Directive 3.3, stating that "no such person may conduct himself in a manner or do any act or omission which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket or which may bring the game of cricket or any cricketer or group of cricketers into disrepute".

^{Ateeq Javid has also been reprimanded for his part in a Facebook exchange with Azeem Rafiq that featured anti-Semitic language (Philip Brown/Getty Images)}

Chris Pickle, the adjudicator appointed by the CDC, found the image to be "racist and discriminatory conduct".

But, he wrote: "Mr Hales did not believe his actions were racist or offensive at the time, though he has acknowledged that he would not dress in that manner now. He is older and more mature. He had not received training and education in such matters at the time, only subsequently. Given that context, I find that there was no racist or discriminatory intent in dressing as he did and in posing for the photo."

Ateeq Javid, the former Warwickshire and Leicestershire allrounder, has also been reprimanded for his use of anti-Semitic language. He has previously apologised for his part in an exchange of comments on Facebook with Azeem Rafiq, who was reprimanded last month for his role.

The CDC found Javid's comments to also be "racist and discriminatory" after he admitted to the same breach of Directive 3.3.

Neither Hales nor Javid have been fined nor punished further, having already submitted apologies.

Pickle added that his decisions be published to emphasise "that such posting on social media, however historical, will not be tolerated".

Related Topics

• Yorkshire racism hearing to take place in public following Azeem Rafiq request

Subscribe to The Cricketer for exclusive content every day: The inside track on England's Test tour with George Dobell in Pakistan, award-winning analysis, breaking news and interviews and the only place for in-depth county coverage all year round. Plus: An ad-free app experience at your fingertips. Subscribe to thecricketer.com today for just £1.