Photo: Kensington Palace
William played cricket on The Mall
The processional road outside Buckingham Palace became a cricket pitch as Prince William faced stars from England, India and the West Indies. The occasion was the Earthshot Prize heading to Mumbai in November. The legendary Brian Lara reckoned the Prince belongs well down the batting order.
The Mall, the processional road running from Buckingham Palace down towards St James's Park, was turned into a cricket pitch on Tuesday. Prince William had invited players from England and India to mark the Earthshot Prize being awarded in Mumbai in November.
Facing Harry Brook and Ganguly
The guests included Joe Root, England's Test captain, and Harry Brook, who captains the white-ball side. India was represented by former captains Sourav Ganguly and Ajinkya Rahane, and the West Indies by Brian Lara, regarded as one of the finest batters the game has seen.
James Anderson, England's all-time leading wicket taker, stood in as wicketkeeper. Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt-Hodge of the England women's team also took part.
William missed several deliveries from Brook and Ganguly, but eventually connected with one that sailed over the heads of the young players from Backyard Cricket.
"Number six or seven"
Brian Lara gave the Prince a friendly assessment afterwards. He thought William plays too much across the line, and placed him well down the order: "His batting across the line, I think he'd just be my sort of number six or number seven batter, the guy that comes in at the end."
Joe Root was more diplomatic. "It was a bit different, it was a challenging wicket. But it was a great opportunity," he said.
Earthshot heads to Mumbai
Earthshot is Prince William's ten-year project to find and reward solutions that can help save the planet. Each year one million pounds is awarded in each of five categories: protect and restore nature, clean our air, revive our oceans, build a waste-free world and fix our climate.
The prize has previously been awarded in London, Singapore, Cape Town, Boston and Rio de Janeiro. Mumbai will be the sixth host city, and the first time the prize is awarded in India.
"India is one of the world's most important forces for climate and nature," William has said of the choice.
This year's finalists include Ørsted, which builds offshore wind farms, Mahindra Last Mile Mobility, which makes electric tuk-tuks – the small three-wheeled taxis common in India – and Yellowstone to Yukon, which links up areas of wilderness so animals can move freely between them.
The game that started in a garden
The match was staged with Backyard Cricket UK. It began as an online trend in North Yorkshire, where people play cricket in the garden, and has grown into a community that has now played in front of Buckingham Palace.