The Australian cricket team camp suffered a blow in their training plans for the ICC World Test Championship final against South Africa, after the team was reportedly denied permission to train at Lord’s Cricket Ground. A report claimed that the Australian team was told that the training ground at Lord’s, the venue for the WTC final starting June 11, wasn’t available. While the exact reason behind the rejection that Pat Cummins and his men faced isn’t known, it has also been reported that the members of the Indian team, in England for a 5-match Test series, were training at the same venue.

A report in Fox Cricket has claimed that the Indian team was given the permission to train at Lord’s “at the expense of the Australian team” at Pat Cummins’ men were ‘booted out’. The report also highlighted that while the WTC final starts on June 11, the Indian team doesn’t play its first Test against England until June 20. In fact, India’s Test against England at Lord’s is the third match of the series, and will start on July 10.

After being denied access initially, Australian players finally had the opportunity to test themselves at the venue on Sunday.

Australia captain Pat Cummins later spoke about his team’s preparations, plans, and the abuse they constantly get whenever playing at Lord’s.

“I think this is the best version of the stadium this morning,” he said. “There’s no one around, which is great. I’m sure it will be much more civil this time around.

“Things got pretty heated in the middle of that Ashes series, but I think a lot of them will have learned their lesson and I’m sure they’ll be very polite.”

Pat Cummins will be the man leading Australia’s bowling attack against South Africa in the WTC final, with the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon accompanying him. All-rounder Cameron Green is expected to be 4th seam-bowling option for the men from Down Under.