World Cup 2019: Prince Harry takes a dig at Aaron Finch and Dimuth Karunaratne in the Buckingham Palace

Before the opening ceremony of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 kicked off, the ten captains of the participating teams in the big event were invited to meet the Queen at her palace in London. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II hosted a Royal Garden Party and was generous enough to have the representatives of all the teams to join in the royal gathering. Her grandson, Prince Harry helped her with the arrangements was also present there.  

When Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Harry met the captains of the ten teams participating in the Cricket World Cup at the Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, it wasn’t just royal but some cheeky banter was also slid in. The royalties shook hands and shared a word or two with each of the captains but fun part came in when Prince Harry shook hands with the Australian captain Aaron Finch. It was more like the Ashes taking place at the palace instead of the Cricket ground.

The Royal family sure loves Cricket!

The cricketing rivalry between England and Australia has been around for ages and as the Duke of Sussex met the captain of his nemesis team, he couldn’t help but take a dig at Finch. According to the express.co.uk, Prince Harry was quoted saying, “You’re getting on a bit now, aren’t you? How long have you been playing?” The 32-year-old Australian took the comment quite sportingly and retorted that he had been playing for eight years at the highest level. Both exchanged smiles in the end.

Meanwhile, the Queen joined the captains of the teams for a photograph in the 1844 Room at Buckingham Palace. She was in a cheeky mood too as when she met Windies skipper Jason Holder towering 6.6 ft, she made fun that they had someone taller in her household. Meanwhile, The Duke went around asking the players if they were confident and who was the favourite. The prince told the Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne “Enjoy it, if you’re not going to enjoy it you might as well not be here.”

Outside, garden party guests braved wet and cold conditions that had been predicted — but everyone still seemed to enjoy the occasion. The Indian captain Virat Kohli also met the Queen and Prince Harry in opening party at The Mall, in front of the Buckingham Palace in Central London. Prince Harry is expected to be at the Oval on Thursday to watch the tournament opener England take on South Africa in the World Cup opener.