Prince William plays cricket on the Mall to promote Earthshot Prize in Mumbai
Prince William joined cricket stars, including Joe Root, for a game on the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace to promote the Earthshot Prize ahead of its sixth awards in Mumbai next month.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Prince William stepped up to the crease on the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace to promote the Earthshot Prize ahead of its awards in India. The Mall has always been a place for big hitters, and one cricket voice said the strip was playing like a road, as they say in cricket. He was joined by a number of cricket stars, including England Test captain Joe Root. The event was staged before the Earthshot Prize, described as the big awards in India and set to be the biggest yet. The sixth edition takes place in Mumbai next month. Cricket is hugely popular in India, and the event was intended to build interest ahead of the ceremony.
His batting drew most of the attention. A cricket figure said William was definitely better at batting than bowling and downplayed his own ability, saying he did not think he was that good. The same figure said he looked like he made contact with 90% of the balls, played across the line a little, as modern batters do, and was impressed. William would make the pundit's XI. His batting was pretty good, and he is definitely a batter rather than a bowler. He played some lovely shots, with a lot to work with. He did not wear cricket whites.
The wider aim was to push environmental optimism and publicity for the Earthshot Prize. William is trying to promote businesses and projects that are coming up with environmental answers and inject some positivity into the whole debate. He has the right people on his side as he tries to whip up interest. The Earthshot Prize coming to Mumbai is seen as a big deal. India is the place to go, one voice said, because people in Mumbai love cricket and William would see more people on the streets if he walked out to play cricket there. It is for a good cause, the Earthshot Prize charity. The parallel with Earthshot, according to one contributor, is that you want the world to express itself in its natural state, and supporting such a venture is special. William has chosen a few select causes where he wants to make a difference. He knows that to do so he needs publicity, even if it means one selfie at a time.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Prince William participated in a cricket event outside Buckingham Palace with cricket stars including Joe Root. | |
| The sixth Earthshot Prize awards will be held in Mumbai next month. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This channel treated the cricket event as a light royal diary story and a publicity launch for the Earthshot Prize. It gave unusually detailed attention to William's batting and bowling, with a cricket pundit saying he would make his XI, and framed the Mumbai awards as a way to bring optimism back to the environmental debate. It also noted he did not wear cricket whites and followed the item with unrelated later stories.
- “He was definitely better at batting and he downplayed it.”
- “He'd make my 11.”
- “William has chosen a few select causes where he wants to make a difference.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.