Dubai: England’s star performers Sam Curran and Chris Jordan tested British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s batting skills during the reception at 10 Downing Street for the Three Lions team on Wednesday, after winning the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia last year.
In a video posted on Twitter, Sunak was seen playing some shots before left-arm pacer Curran, Player of the T20 World Cup 2022, turned his arm bowling spin on the garden. The ball spun sharply and beat the right-hander Sunak.
Jordan, who claimed three crucial wickets in the semi-final against India, also had the Indian-origin Sunak, caught behind, bringing a loud cheer and leaving the England all-rounder in splits.
England whiteball skipper Jos Buttler also took to Twitter on Thursday to post pictures of the team standing in front of 10 Downing Street, the official residence of British Prime Minister. “It was a privilege to take the T20 World Cup to 10 Downing Street yesterday with a few of the lads!” Buttler posted along with picture of him batting in the garden.
Chris Woakes, Dawid Malan, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, Richard Gleeson and Tymal Mills were also seen during the reception.
Sunak, an ardent England fan, had sent a special message to England team ahead of the final against Pakistan in November last year.
Unique feat
Sunak wished luck to the England team and said he will be cheering for them like every other cricket fan in the country. “Good luck to @englandcricket in the T20 World Cup final against Pakistan tomorrow. I’ll be cheering you on, along with every other cricket fan across the UK. We’re behind you all the way,” read a tweet from UK PM’s official Twitter handle.
The five-wicket win over Pakistan gave England the unique feat of holding both the whiteball World Cup, after winning the 2019 50-over World Cup at home, defeating New Zealand in a thrilling final.
England, who won the first Twenty20 World Cup crown in 2010, narrowly missed the second after losing the 2016 final in Kolkata. Needing 24 runs off the last over, Carlos Brathwaite hit four consecutive sixes of Ben Stokes to give West Indies their second title. Stokes, however, made amends for the lapse to guide England to victory in Melbourne with an unbeaten 52 to guide his team to five-wicket win in the final against Pakistan.
