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The England captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, admitted her bowlers are frustrated their usual warm-up routines will be inadvertently impeded by Rita Ora on Sunday.
The singer will headline the Women’s T20 World Cup closing ceremony on the Lord’s outfield from 2.30 to 3pm, wrapping up 30 minutes before the start of the final between England and Australia. While the sides are permitted on to the main ground before and after the performance, anything in between will have to take place at the Nursery Ground, largely used for net practice on training days.
It could be an imposition, especially before such a major match, as bowlers like to mark their run-ups and go through their drills on the practice square during the time Ora will be performing.
But closing ceremonies on the outfield are becoming commonplace at International Cricket Council finals, with Ricky Martin performing before the men’s T20 World Cup showpiece in March.
While it is understood England are not treating this as a major issue, Sciver-Brunt revealed at her pre-match press conference some of her teammates are less than impressed.
“Obviously there’s a few moving parts with the pre-game stuff,” Sciver-Brunt said. “People like to bowl before the game on one of the bowl through wickets. We had a few chins down [when they found out].
“I guess that’s what you get when you’re playing in a final and there’s a lot of other moving parts that aren’t to do with the two teams playing. Hopefully we can go about our business as usual.”
The Australia captain, Sophie Molineux, was more relaxed about the situation. “I’m assuming if Rita Ora is here, we can evacuate the dancefloor, that’s for sure,” she said with a smile.
Australia have surrendered both white-ball World Cups in the past couple of years, but they are still regarded as the team to beat and are one win away from a record-extending seventh T20 crown.
They have won all six white-ball World Cup finals against England and thrashed their old rivals 16-0 on points in the last Ashes, although remarkably this will be their first experience of a Lord’s showpiece.
“We know it’s going to be an incredible challenge, but it’s also going to be a really special day just to be involved in,” Molineux said. “We match up well against them. We don’t look too far into the past, but we should be very confident heading into this.”
