Organisers ease concern of clash between warm-ups and Rita Ora set

England and Australia will be allowed to warm up on the Lord's outfield before Sunday's T20 World Cup final after all, having initially being told they could not do so until after a performance by pop star Rita Ora.

The singer's set will begin on the Lord's outfield at 14:30 BST, half an hour before the toss and one hour before the start of play.

This meant that the teams were told they would have to to start their warm-ups on the Lord's Nursery Ground before getting access to the main outfield after the toss.

But a late change has been made to allow bowlers to warm up on the main ground before the performance as well.

The ICC has been asked for a comment.

Pre-match performances taking place on the outfield are not unusual at World Cups and the same happened at the men's T20 final in India earlier this year when Ricky Martin performed.

The disruption will impact bowlers more, with captain Nat Sciver-Brunt saying the preference is to bowl on the practice wickets next to the match surface beforehand - and while they will still be able to do that, there will be the half-hour gap in the middle when Ora performs.

"There's a few moving parts with the pre-game stuff tomorrow," Sciver-Brunt said in her news conference, before the change had been announced.

"Some of the girls' faces when we were warming up on the Nursery Ground - people like to bowl before the game on one of the bowl-through wickets.

"We had a few chins down. But I guess that's what you get when you're playing in a final and there's lots of other moving parts."

England are making their first appearance in an ICC final since the 50-over World Cup in 2022, where they were beaten by Australia, while their last global trophy win came at the same ground in 2017.

Sciver-Brunt is one of three players involved who was in the squad for that tournament, alongside former captain Heather Knight and batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge.

With the increasing professionalisation of women's cricket in the nine years since and the record-breaking crowd numbers at this tournament, Sciver-Brunt says Sunday's final could be a more significant occasion.

"Where the game was in 2017 compared to where it is now, is a huge leap," Sciver-Brunt, 33, added.

"Tomorrow's game will show that. We know it's been a big deal, obviously we don't really know how it's looked or felt from the outside but certainly to play in it and to be part of the record-breaking crowds and some exciting games, yeah we have felt that [importance]."

The England captain also played down the significance of Sunday's opponents, considering their recent history against Australia - particularly the 16-0 Ashes thrashing at the beginning of 2025.

"Our team has come a long way since that Ashes tour," she said.

"I think everyone knows what tomorrow is about, a World Cup final at home at Lord's, the occasion is already massive.

"There's not really been any talk about the Ashes or proving people wrong from that."