Oscar Piastri has visited the Australian cricket team ahead of the second Ashes test, starting at Lord’s tomorrow.
The McLaren driver has made no secret of his love for cricket and threw his support behind the Australian team before a ball was bowled in the 2023 series.
As part of his visit, Piastri strapped on the pads and faced a handful of deliveries in the nets.
“Great to watch them getting ready for the second test,” Piastri told Sky Sports.
“Lucky enough to face a few balls from Nathan Lyon and Mitch Starc, so it’s been a really cool day seeing the guys at the top of their game.”
“It was really cool,” he added of facing Australia’s bowling attack.
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“The astroturf was not exactly favourable for Gaz [Lyon] on the spin, and Mitch was coming off about half a step, I reckon.
“But very, very cool to have those guys come in.
“I think normally I’d be terrified but, in those circumstances, very, very cool.”
Piastri played as a junior for Brighton Cricket Club, and West Bentleigh Cricket Club, near his home in Melbourne.
Last week, he took to Instagram to share a photo of himself, aged six, with then-Australian captain Ricky Pointing – who was also present at the training session.
“It’s been a full-circle moment I guess in some ways,” Piastri said.
“Nice to see him again and actually be able to speak about stuff this time, not just say ‘hi’ and be in awe.
“Very, very cool moment for me to be here with all the Aussies, but especially Ricky as well – he was someone I looked up to when I was a little kid playing cricket.
“Of course, that photo is now, I guess, a bit more famous!”
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While unable to tune in for much of the opening test as it clashed with the Canadian Grand Prix, Piastri admitted he did stay abreast of it as best he could.
“I was checking the score in between sessions and stuff like that,” he admitted.
“We were back from Canada for the fifth day, so I got to watch all of that in its glory on TV.
“Pretty nerve-wracking few hours, but glad we got it done.”
Piastri will miss much of the second test too, with the Austrian Grand Prix beginning Friday, with media commitments from the day prior.
The second Ashes test begins at Lord’s on Wednesday and is slated to run through until Sunday – should the English hang on that long.
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