EXCLUSIVE: BBC Radio 1 presenter Greg James has shared what it was really like playing cricket with Prince William, joking that the royal needs to work on his bowling after their memorable Earthshot Prize cricket match on The Mall in central London
BBC Radio 1 presenter Greg James, 40, has revealed what it was really like playing cricket with Prince William, joking that the royal needs to work on his bowling after a memorable game on The Mall.
The broadcaster, a lifelong cricket fan, was among those invited to take part in the unusual match in central London on Tuesday, October 13, where some of the sport’s biggest names swapped the cricket ground for the famous road leading up to Buckingham Palace.
The event saw Prince William join former and current international players, including ex-India captain Sourav Ganguly, West Indies legend Brian Lara and England captain Joe Root, for an informal game in front of the palace.
But while the Prince of Wales got involved with both bat and ball, Greg reckons there is still some room for improvement when it comes to his bowling.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror after taking part in the match, Greg said: “It was bizarre. I mean, look, I’m a lifelong cricket fan and our cricket podcast, tailenders, I said to them, we’ve been invited down to the Mall. There’s gonna be some cricket legends down here, do you wanna play? And they immediately said yes. So if you, if you say you’re gonna hang out with Joe Root, Harry Brooke, Sourav Ganguly, Brian Lara. I’m there.”
And it was not just the chance to play alongside some of cricket’s biggest stars that made the day special, with William himself getting stuck into the action.
However, when asked whether the royal had offered the players any words of wisdom, Greg suggested the advice might have been more useful going in the other direction.
“Well, I think HE needed some words of wisdom for his bowling. He won’t mind, well he might mind me saying, but it is, it has all been filmed that he bowled one of the worst balls in cricket history, but made up for it by batting well, I’d say, yeah, so I think. There’s work to be done,” he said.
So, what would Greg tell William if he were to offer him some cricketing advice?
“Warm up before you bowl,” he said.
Asked what that warm-up should involve, Greg continued: “I just think he needs to get that back, that back loose. I don’t think he’s played cricket since he was 13, which is fair enough.
“It’s a very difficult game and when you see those legends out there, you realise just how good they all are. But it was a great atmosphere down here and everyone was excited about the Earthshot prize and I got Sourav Ganguly out. That’s enough.”
The match on The Mall was organised to celebrate the links between Britain and India, two countries with a huge passion for cricket, ahead of India hosting the annual Earthshot Prize summit and awards ceremony next month.
Founded by Prince William in 2020, the Earthshot Prize recognises five winners each year, awarding them £1 million each to help scale up solutions designed to repair and protect the planet.
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