LONDON: The racism crisis tearing through English cricket took yet another turn late Thursday following the emergence of photographs of Alex Hales in blackface, with the batsman saying it had been a “tribute” to the late US rapper Tupac Shakur. The pictures were published by Britain’s The Sun newspaper hours after former player Azeem Rafiq — whose revelations of the career-ending racism he suffered have sent shockwaves through the English game — admitted he had sent anti-Semitic messages as a teenager. In a statement, Hales told The Sun: “In 2009, I attended a New Year’s Eve musical tribute fancy dress party. I dressed in tribute to my musical hero, Tupac Shakur, someone who I’ve admired from childhood and, at the time, did not realise the offensive nature of this. “I echo my statement from earlier in the week and stress how much I deplore racism and discrimination in all its forms,” added the 32-year-old batsman, who now faces a fresh investigation after being suspended by England for a second positive drugs test in 2019. This week Rafiq told a parliamentary committee that Hales named his black dog ‘Kevin’ due to cricketer Gary Ballance’s use of the name as a derogatory term for people of colour, an accusation that prompted a “categorical” denial from Hales. Hales’ statement on Thursday regarding the photographs led Julian Knight, the MP who chaired Tuesday’s committee hearing, to label the images “incredibly disturbing and offensive” as he warned “the very soul of English cricket is now at stake”. Rafiq was widely praised for giving a disturbing account of the racism he suffered during two spells with Yorkshire to Knight’s committee, having previously said the abuse had led him to contemplate taking his own life. The former off-spinner, whose case has led to further revelations at other English counties, told the committee: “Do I believe I lost my career to racism? Yes, I do.” But earlier on Thursday, The Times newspaper uncovered messages from Rafiq sent to former Warwickshire and Leicestershire player Ateeq Javid, in which Rafiq is seen to make disparaging comments about an unnamed Jewish person. Rafiq responded by tweeting: “I have absolutely no excuses. I am ashamed of this exchange and have now deleted it so as not to cause further offence.” “I was 19 at the time and I hope and believe I am a different person today,” the 30-year-old Pakistan-born Rafiq added. “I am incredibly angry at myself and I apologise to the Jewish community and everyone who is rightly offended by this.” Board of Deputies of British Jews president Marie van der Zyl responded by saying: “Azeem Rafiq has suffered terribly at the hands of racists in cricket so he will well understand the hurt this exchange will cause to Jews who have supported him. His apology certainly seems heartfelt and we have no reason to believe he is not completely sincere.”