England women use F1 cooling vests for 35°C Lord's match
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Charlie Dean said England will deploy Formula One-style cooling vests, ice packs, and ice-filled neck grips for their Group 2 T20 World Cup match against West Indies at Lord's on Wednesday (18:30 BST), with London temperatures forecast to hit 35°C under a rare red heat warning.
- Dean, standing in for injured captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, said the side will lean on past experience playing in India and Australia: 'We've played in these conditions before, we know that it takes a lot out of you.'
- Lord's is likely to host the warmest cricket match in the UK since England men's 38C fixture against South Africa in Chester-le-Street, where some spectators required medical attention, and air-conditioned spaces will be opened to spectators to cool down.
- The ICC and ECB have extreme heat protocols in place managed by the match safety officer, officials, and medical teams, with provisions to call off the match if conditions are deemed unsafe for players or spectators.
- England need a fourth win on Wednesday to clinch a semi-final berth with a match to spare; West Indies have three wins from three and were the side that knocked England out of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
- Sciver-Brunt, sidelined by a calf injury, is tracking well in her recovery but needs another scan before being cleared to return, and could resume training later this week.
Why it matters: A red heat warning is rare for UK cricket and triggers real safety contingencies — at the 38C Chester-le-Street match, spectators needed medical attention, and ICC/ECB protocols allow the match to be called off entirely if deemed unsafe. Beyond player welfare, the result carries tournament stakes: an England win secures a semi-final spot with a match to spare against the only team to eliminate them from the 2024 T20 World Cup.
