Reports: Australian team denied access to Lord’s amid India’s training

As per a report, the Australian team was denied access to the training facility at Lord’s as they were looking to prepare for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final, starting on Wednesday, June 11.

The report states that the Australian team was told that the training ground at Lord’s wasn’t available. The exact reason why Pat Cummins and Co. were denied entry remains unknown, but it has also been reported that the members of the Indian team, in England for a five-match Test series, were training at the Home of Cricket.

A report in Fox Cricket has claimed that the Indian team was permitted to train at Lord’s “at the expense of the Australian team” as Cummins’ men were ‘booted out’ of the iconic venue. The report also highlighted that while the WTC final starts on Wednesday, the Indian team doesn’t play its first Test against England until June 20. India’s Test against England at Lord’s is the third match of the series, and will get underway on July 10.

After facing rejection initially, the Australian team was eventually granted entry into the training ground, and they managed to get some much-needed practice ahead of this week’s showdown against a buoyant Proteas side.

Australia skipper Cummins later spoke about the defending champions’ preparations, plans, and the abuse they garner every time they play at Lord’s.

“I think this is the best version of the stadium this morning. There’s no one around, which is great. I’m sure it will be much more civil this time around,” Cummins was quoted as saying by NDTV.

“Things got pretty heated in the middle of that Ashes series, but I think a lot of them will have learned their lesson and I’m sure they’ll be very polite,” he added.

South Africa won their last seven Tests to make it to the WTC final. Meanwhile, Australia are coming off an impressive 3-1 win against India at home to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Fans are waiting with bated breath for the start of the third WTC final, with New Zealand and Australia emerging victorious in the first two editions, respectively.