England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt has complained that her side are facing disruption to their World Cup final preparations due to singer Rita Ora.
Everyone knows that a key part of warm-ups for bowlers is marking their run-ups on the main square.
But both Australia and England will be given a reduced time to prepare themselves due to the closing ceremony.
Ora is headlining the show before the game gets underway, she is expected to be on stage from 2:30pm to 3pm BST with the match starting half an hour later.
That means 30 minutes of pre-match time on the main square will be lost, with players given the Nursery Ground during that time.
And England captain Sciver-Brunt has said her bowlers were unimpressed by the timings.
Rita Ora is set to play the closing ceremony for the women’s T20 World Cup half hour before the first ball will be bowled
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt has expressed her frustration at the disruption to her side’s warm-up ahead of the final
Australia captain Sophie Molineux was far more relaxed at the proposition of the disruption
‘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 30-minute disruption is actually a far cry from Katy Perry’s performance during the closing ceremony at the MCG.
Back then the American pop star used a purple stage and had dancing cricket bats that made the entire patch inaccessible for several hours.
Perhaps it is that experience with the disruption that has given Sophie Molineux a far more laid-back approach to the disruption caused by musical performances.
The Australian captain joked, ‘I’m assuming if Rita Ora is here, we can evacuate the dancefloor, that’s for sure.’
In, fact, Molineux was so comfortable with Perry’s performance that she stole the show during her post-game celebratory dancing to Firework.
Ora has been drafted in by the International Cricket Council to add to the sense of occasion in front of what is anticipated to be a full house at Lord’s.
Australia have won this tournament six times in the past and had won three in a row prior to New Zealand’s victory at the 2024 World Cup.
Ellyse Perry is set to feature for Australia despite being withdrawn during the semi-final against the West Indies
And Sophie Molineux’s side look like they will be buoyed by the return of Ellyse Perry, after an injury scare against the West Indies.
‘Ellyse trained really well, had a good bat, had a good bowl, she will field as well,’ said Molineux.
‘We will assess tomorrow, see how she pulls up before we make any decisions.
‘It would be great if she can bowl for us, but at the same time with our bowling depth, we feel like we have got cover there.
‘Her T20 World Cup so far with the bat, she has been incredible and has won us a couple of games. Even if she is not bowling, it will be a massive positive for us.’
The queen of Australian cricket has featured in all 10 T20 World Cup tournaments and will be aiming to claim her seventh winners medal.
