The opening ceremony of the 2019 Cricket World Cup has begun at The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace in London.
The ceremony, dubbed the “opening party”, will be attended by the captains of all 10 participating teams.
The skippers got to meet Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom, ahead of the ceremony as tweeted by the royal family.
Before the opening party, a round of two-a-side street cricket match was also played where Nobel laureate Malala Yousufzai and former ODI captain Azhar Ali represented Pakistan.
England, whose 50-over side is among the favourites, won the event named the 60-second challenge. Pakistan finished seventh but India finished 10th — a point made by Malala later and which drew loud cheers from the crowd.
Australia’s World Cup winning former captain Michael Clarke and former English spinner Graeme Swann unveiled the World Cup trophy to the crowd.
