Prince William stops traffic for cricket game outside Buckingham Palace

Britain's Prince William turned one of London's most famous thoroughfares, The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace, into a temporary cricket pitch on Tuesday, where he was joined by some of the game's biggest names to promote his Earthshot climate prize.

The wide red-paved promenade in the heart of the city is more often seen as the setting for grand royal processions and patriotic flag-waving celebrations.

But on Tuesday, William picked up a cricket bat for an informal game with current and former international players including ex-Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, West Indies legend Brian Lara and England captain Joe Root.

Against the palatial backdrop, William - dressed in a shirt and sweater - clubbed away a series of gentle deliveries from Ganguly and posed for selfies with onlookers.

"He batted alright," said Ganguly when asked for his verdict on the prince's skills.

The event was designed to celebrate the ties between Britain and India - two passionate cricketing nations - as India prepares to host the annual summit and awards ceremony of William's Earthshot Prize next month.

The prize, founded in 2020, honours five winners with £1 million ($1.32 million) each to scale solutions aimed at repairing the planet.

($1 = 0.7551 pounds)

-Reporting by William James; editing by Sarah Young/Reuters