Cricket Australia has apologised for any "unintended offence" caused by James Faulkner's Instagram post on Monday night which was widely interpreted as the allrounder revealing he was in a same-sex relationship.

The initial post of Faulkner having dinner on his 29th birthday alongside his mother and friend Rob Jubb, who Faulkner captioned as "boyfriend", was reported by many major media outlets as being confirmation of a relationship. The post was later edited to include "best friend" but by then the story had gone around the world.

In a subsequent post on Tuesday morning, Faulkner clarified there had been a "misunderstanding", while thanking the support he had received, and Cricket Australia emphasised their support for the LGBQTI community.

View this post on Instagram

There seems to be a misunderstanding about my post from last night, I am not gay, however it has been fantastic to see the support from and for the LBGT community. Let's never forget love is love, however @robjubbsta is just a great friend. Last night marked five years of being house mates! Good on everyone for being so supportive.

A post shared by James Faulkner (@jfaulkner44) on Apr 29, 2019 at 5:07pm PDT

"Cricket Australia does not consider the social commentary this morning from James Faulkner to be a joke, nor does James," a statement said.

"His comment was made as a genuine reflection of his relationship with his business partner, best friend and house mate of five years. He was not contacted for clarification before some outlets reported his Instagram post as an announcement of a homosexual relationship.

"James and CA are supportive of the LGBQTI community and recognises coming out can be an incredibly emotional time. The post was not in any way meant to make light of this and, though the support from the community was overwhelming and positive. Cricket Australia apologises for any unintended offence."