Which team are heading to Lord's in form for the Inter Services T20 championships?
Big wickets, tremendous boundaries and exciting action is expected at Lord's Cricket Ground on Thursday as the 2024 Inter Services T20 championships come to a close.
You can watch both RAF v Army and RAF v Navy matches, as well as seeing the UK Armed Forces women's team in action, live on the Forces News YouTube channel and BFBS TV service (for serving personnel only).
But which service is heading into Lord's with the confidence and form to win?
British Army
They've held on to the title since 2019 so they come into the competition as the team to beat.
And that's what the Navy did the opening match - watch action from that here.
However, before that match, it's been mixed results for the reigning champions.
They've played ten T20 matches so far and managed to win five of them, including impressive bowling displays against Cambridge University and Hampshire's second team.
Their other four matches were losses though, and their two clashes with Marylebone Cricket Club were pretty comprehensive defeats.
The form book in 2024 shows that if the Army can get control of the game with the ball, they set themselves up for victory.
Royal Air Force
The 2024 event sees the RAF as hosts, so we'll see them twice in action at Lord's.
They've also played nine matches in the build-up to the championships and look to be in scorching hot form going into Lord's.
Five wins out of the nine games has seen the Air Force beat Cambridge University, Oxford University and Huntingdon Cricket Club as well as victory over their development team twice.
Tom Shorthouse has been the stand-out player with the bat as he's hit 432 runs across those nine matches with his top score coming in at 89 not out against Oxford.
The Air Force were the last non-Army team to win the title in 2018.
Royal Navy
The first thing of note is that the Navy have had a number of cancellations in their pre-event fixture list, meaning they've played only five times in 2024.
Two of those games were victories against their development team, while a double bill of T20 matches against Millfield School also yielded victories.
Their one defeat came against Burridge Cricket Club where a disappointing batting collapse at the top of the order left them with too big of a mountain to climb.
However, they gained momentum for their RAF clash by beating the Army in the first match of the championships - their first win over the Army in 14 years.
UK Armed Forces women
Alongside the Inter Services cricket, we will see the UK Armed Forces women's team in action against Marylebone Cricket Club.
Last year's match between the two teams saw UKAF win by nine wickets with the partnership between Army players Georgina Dean and Amanda Potgieter inspiring them to a second consecutive win at Lord's.
In 2024, the team have played twice with a win and defeat to Sir Paul Getty's XI in Wormsley, with Potgieter again impressing with the bat.
Where to watch
You can all three matches from Lord's on the Forces News YouTube channel and on BFBS TV (for serving personnel only).
The action will run throughout the day on Thursday 16 May, starting with UKAF's battle with the MCC.
The afternoon is earmarked for some terrific Inter Services action as the RAF take on both the Army and the Navy with Inter Services champions for 2024 set to be crowned.
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