England cricketer Graeme Swann has apologised for his comment comparing his side's Ashes defeat to Australia to being "arse raped".
The 34-year-old spinner made the comment on Facebook in response to his brother Alec posting that he had enjoyed a night out seeing the band Shed Seven at Northampton's Roadmender venue.
"Sorry to anyone who was offended by my comments in the papers today," Swann tweeted. "Crass and thoughtless of me in the extreme."
England have lost the first three Tests of the five-match Ashes series in Australia.