As Alex Hales delivered his latest mea culpa to nearly a quarter of a million followers on Instagram, it was clear that his career had long since split in two.
There is Hales the batsman: a white-ball powerhouse, who for nearly 18 months held England's individual one-day record - a murderous innings of 171 off 122 balls at Trent Bridge, his home ground, against Pakistan in 2016.
And there is Hales the man: an apparently troubled soul, who has not played for his country since March 2019 because of what England's white-ball captain Eoin Morgan has described as 'trust issues'.
Staring into his mobile phone as he considered the implications of a photo that showed him wearing blackface at a fancy dress party in 2009, Hales spoke determinedly of how 'the last few years, being away from the spotlight a little bit, have given me a chance to try and better myself'.
The problem for Hales, who will be 33 in January and is fast running out of time to convince those who matter that he is a risk worth taking, is that he hasn't really been out of the spotlight at all.
If the revelations triggered by the Azeem Rafiq affair have confirmed the obvious truth that many cricketers have a past, and not all pasts are savoury, then those keeping tabs on Hales's charge sheet may soon be asking for a second piece of A4.
Alex Hales is fast running out of time to turn things around following his latest scandal
Things began to go wrong for one of the most talented limited-overs batsmen of his generation on an infamous night for English cricket — the evening out in Bristol in September 2017 that led to Ben Stokes's appearance in court on a charge of affray.
Stokes was later acquitted, but Hales could be seen on video kicking another defendant, Ryan
