Somerset seamer Jack Brooks on Thursday apologised to Cheteshwar Pujara for his role in nicknaming the India Test specialist Steve during his time at Yorkshire. Brooks—who joined Somerset in 2018—also issued an apology for historical racist tweets (2012) as the controversy surrounding Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of institutional racism against Yorkshire continued to haunt English cricket.

The emergence of two examples of Brooks using allegedly racist words in exchanges with England fast bowler Tymal Mills and Stewart Laudat, who played minor county cricket for Oxfordshire, led to Somerset investigating the allegations.