THE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatari colours recorded two black-type victories at La Teste De Buch, France, on Friday when the Al Shaqab Racing-owned Ryme Al Cham and the H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani-owned Amyr Du Soleil won the Prix Razzia III (Gr 3 / PA) and the Prix Tidjani (Gr3 / PA) respectively.

Both wins, not only came in two classic races over 1,900 metres, which were the very first two events of the nine-race card, but were also associated with the same duo; trainer Thomas Fourcy and jockey Julien Augé.

Al Shaqab Racing represent-atives did not wait for long and

demonstrated their class in the Prix Razzia III (Gr 3 / PA), the opener of the card when the Thomas Fourcy-saddled Ryme Al Cham and Um Taj took home the first and the second places respectively in the race reserved for three-year-old fillies.

Ryme Al Cham cantered in last position in the early stages and took a bit of time before finding her action. Once the daughter of Af Albahar managed to accelerate, she came fast on the straight to land the spoils just in front of the Jerome Cabre-ridden Um Taj, who finished second only a nose behind.

The É Dell’Ova-trained and William Smit-ridden Mzoon completed the frame with a further short head behind.

With this Gr 3 win at La Teste under her belt in her only second start, Ryme Al Cham has confirmed her class as a very promising prospect, especially as she was the runner-up in her debut when she was defeated

by a head by Meethag, another filly owned by Al Shaqab Racing, at Toulouse on 1 June this year.

Meanwhile, H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani’s Amyr Du Soleil claimed the other black-type event of the

day immediately in the second race.

The duo Fourcy-Augé made it a quick-double fire when the son of Amer brilliantly won the Prix Tidjani (Gr3 / PA) reserved for three-year-old colts. Having

followed the leader, Amyr Du Soleil easily took the advantage at the start of the home straight and made every post a winning one. Indeed, he kept detaching himself from the rest of the field.

His closest rival, the Al Shaqab Racing-owned and the Jerome Cabre-ridden Mounjared Al Cham was three lengths behind and came second, making it another one-two for his trainer, Thomas Fourcy.

A l t h o u g h d e f e a t e d , Mounjared Al Cham did so well that he finished further 11 lengths in front of the Guy Dell’ova-owned and É Dell’Ova-trained Guythoum De Carrère who came third under Roberto-Carlos Montenegro.

SPORT 21SUNDAY 14 JULY 2019

I’ve played with Roger in some epic finals here a couple years in a row, so I know what to expect.

Of course, I’m going to be excited and nervous and everything that

you can think of.

Novak Djokovic on the eve of his Wimbledon men’s singles final against Roger Federer

ICC WORLD CUP FINAL

England vs New Zealand

at Lord’s, London

THE CHAMPIONSHIPS, WIMBLEDON

Men’s singles final

Novak Djokovi vs Roger Federer

CRICKET TENNIS

TO

DAY

’SA

CTIO

N

Federer seeks to dethrone Djokovic at WimbledonAFP LONDON

Eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer believes the “stars have aligned” as he attempts to become the oldest Grand Slam winner of modern times in today’s final against Novak Djokovic.

The 37-year-old Swiss can clinch a record-extending 21st major if he manages to break free of the world number one’s stranglehold.

Four-time Wimbledon winner and defending champion Djokovic enjoys a 25-22 edge in career meetings, stretching back 13 years.

The Serb has won 14 of their last 20 meetings and eight of the last 10.

Federer has lost all four of their most recent meetings at the Slams and it’s now seven years since he triumphed over the 32-year-old at the majors.

That was 2012 in four sets in a Wimbledon semi-final.

However, Federer, who will be 38 next month, insists such statistics are meaningless as he attempts to succeed Ken Rosewall, at the 1972 Australian Open, as the oldest Slam champion of the Open era.

“It’s been a rock solid year for me. I won in Halle (on grass on the eve of Wimbledon). The stars are aligned right now,” said Federer.

“From that standpoint I can go into the match very confident.”

Federer, who passed the 100-win mark at Wimbledon in his quarter-final victory over Kei Nishikori, is feeling especially confident after seeing off Rafael

Nadal in four sets in the semi-final.

That win was crucial coming as it did just a month after his old rival had condemned him to his worst Slam loss in 11 years in the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

Appearing in his 12th final at the All England Club, and 16 years after his maiden Wimbledon title triumph, Federer believes there is little new that either he or Djokovic can do to prepare for Sunday’s showdown.

“This is like at school -- on the day of the test you’re not going to read, I don’t know, how many books that day.

“It’s quite clear the work was done way before.”

There is no doubt whatsoever as to who the crowd will support.

Djokovic, a 15-time Grand

Slam champion, is respected by British fans but certainly not revered in the same saintly fashion reserved for Federer.

Too intense and too new age for modest British tastes, Djokovic did little to endear himself in his semi-final win over Roberto Bautista Agut.

After a punishing 45-shot rally ended in his favour, the Serb roared out his frustration, cupped his ear and placed an admon-ishing finger to his lips as most of Centre Court willed the ball to fall in the Spaniard’s favour.

“Look, I focus on what I need to do,” said Djokovic.

“At times they wanted him to come back into the match, maybe take a lead because he was an underdog.

“I understand that. But I had

enough support here over the years, so I don’t complain.”

Djokovic has yet to be truly tested at this Wimbledon.

The highest-ranked player he has faced was 21st-seeded David Goffin of Belgium who was dismissed for the loss of just six games in the quarter-finals.

The ‘NextGen’ hopefuls in his half of the draw all failed to fire.

Highly-regarded Stefanos Tsitsipas never made it past the first day while Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime fell in the third round.

“With Federer, we all know how good he is anywhere, but especially here. This surface complements his game very well,” said Djokovic ahead of the pair’s 16th meeting at the Slams a n d 20th meeting i n a t o u r -level final.

“He loves to play very fast. Takes away the time from his opponent. Just doesn’t give you any of the same looks.”

Djokovic is playing in his 25th Grand Slam final while Federer has played six more.

Whoever emerges as champion on Sunday, it will yet again confirm the dominance of the ‘Big Three’ of Federer, Djokovic and Nadal.

Between them, they will have won the last 11 majors, 15 of the last 17 and 54 of the last 65.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic arrives for a practice session at the All

England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest

London, yesterday, on the eve of his singles final against

Switzerland’s Roger Federer.

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Wimbledon championrer believes the “stars

ed” as he attempts toe oldest Grand Slam

modern times in nal against Novak

-year-old Swiss can cord-extending 21stmanages to break freeorld number one’sd.ime Wimbledondefending champion

njoys a 25-22 edge in tings, stretching back

b has won 14 of their tings and eight of the

r has lost all four of ecent meetings at theit’s now seven yearsriumphed over thed at the majors.as 2012 in four sets inon semi-final.er, Federer, who willmonth, insists such e meaningless as he to succeed Ken

t the 1972 Australian the oldest Slam

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that standpoint I can the match very

r, who passed theark at Wimbledon in

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Nadal in four sets in the semi-final.

That win was crucial coming as it did just a month after his old rival had condemned him to his worst Slam loss in 11 years in the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

Appearing in his 12th final at the All England Club, and 16 yearsafter his maiden Wimbledon title triumph, Federer believes there is little new that either he orDjokovic can do to prepare forSunday’s showdown.

“This is like at school -- onthe day of the test you’re not going to read, I don’t know, how many books that day.

“It’s quite clear the work wasdone way before.”

There is no doubt whatsoever as to who the crowd will support.

Djokovic, a 15-time Grand

Slam champion, is respected by British fans but certainly not revered in the same saintly fashion reserved for Federer.

Too intense and too new agefor modest British tastes, Djokovicdid little to endear himself in hissemi-final win over Roberto Bautista Agut.

After a punishing 45-shot rally ended in his favour, the Serbroared out his frustration, cuppedhis ear and placed an admon-ishing finger to his lips as most of Centre Court willed the ball to fall in the Spaniard’s favour.

“Look, I focus on what I need to do,” said Djokovic.

“At times they wanted him to come back into the match, maybe take a lead because he was an underdog.

“I understand that. But I had

enough support here over the years, so I don’t complain.”

Djokovic has yet to betruly tested at this Wimbledon.

The highest-ranked player he has faced was 21st-seeded David Goffin of Belgium who was dismissed for the loss of just six games in the quarter-finals.

The ‘NextGen’ hopefuls in his half of the draw all failed to fire.

Highly-regarded Stefanos Tsitsipas never made it past the first day while Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime fell in the third round.

“With Federer, we all know how good he is anywhere, but especially here. This surfacecomplements his game verywell,” said Djokovic ahead of the pair’s 16th meeting at the Slamsa n d 20th meeting i n a t o u r -level final.

“He loves to play very fast. Takes away the timefrom his opponent. Justdoesn’t give you any of the same looks.”

Djokovic is playing in his25th Grand Slam final whileFederer has played six more.

Whoever emerges as champion on Sunday, it willyet again confirm thedominance of the ‘BigThree’ of Federer, Djokovic and Nadal.

Between them,they will have won the last 11 majors, 15 of the last 17 and 54 of the last 65.

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(Grand Slam only):

2016 - Australian Open hard Semi-finals Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

2015 - US Open hard Final Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4

2015 - Wimbledon grass Final Djokovic 7-6 (7/1), 6-7 (10/12), 6-4, 6-3

2014 - Wimbledon grass Final Djokovic 6-7 (7/9), 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-4

2012 - Wimbledon grass Semi-final Federer 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

2012 - French Open clay Semi-final Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-3

2011 - US Open hard Semi-final Djokovic 6-7 (7/9), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5

2011 - French Open clay Semi-final Federer 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5)

2011 - Australian Open hard Semi-final Djokovic 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, 6-4

2010 - US Open hard Semi-final Djokovic 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5

2009 - US Open hard Semi-final Federer 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, 7-5

2008 - US Open hard Semi-final Federer 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2

2008 - Australian Open hard Semi-final Djokovic 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5)

2007 - US Open hard Final Federer 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2), 6-4

2007 - Australian Open hard Last 16 Federer 6-2, 7-5, 6-3

WIMBLEDON MEN’S FINAL HEAD TO HEAD RECORDNovak Djokovic (SRB x1) vs Roger Federer (SUI x2): Djokovic leads 25-22

Amyr Du Soleil wins in France; Ryme Al Cham lands Prix Razzia IIIH E Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani’s Amyr Du Soleil (left) on its way to win the Prix Tidjani (Gr3 / PA) at La Teste De Buch, France, on Friday.

Tour de France: Alaphilippe takes yellow

AFP SAINT-ÉTIENNE, FRANCE

Thomas De Gendt won yester-day’s Tour de France eighth stage with a solo breakaway as home hero Julian Alaphilippe thrillingly won back the yellow jersey a day ahead of the Bastille Day national holiday.

In a breath-taking finish, defending champion Geraint Thomas survived a spectacular fall, but lost time to title rival Thibaut Pinot in the overall standings.

Former soldier Alaphilippe took the overall lead on stage three with a stunning solo break but lost it to Italy’s Giulio Ciccone at the Planche des Belles Filles mountain slog on Thursday.

However, with 15km to go on Saturday, Alaphilippe and Pinot combined to drop the peloton in a desperate bid to get back the yellow jersey and for Pinot to take time in the overall on his title rivals.

They could not catch De Gendt, the Belgian who won by six seconds, but beat Ciccone by 20 seconds for Alaphilippe to regain the yellow and wear it on today for the July 14 festivities.

The last French rider to be in yellow for Bastille Day fire-works was Tony Gallopin in 2014.

Yesterday’s stage was a notable success for FDJ captain Pinot, who was ecstatic after climbing to third in the overall standings behind Alaphilippe and Ciccone.

TOUR DE FRANCE: STAGE 8

1. Thomas De Gendt (BEL) Lotto - Soudal 5:00:17

2. Thibaut Pinot (FRA) Groupama - FDJ +6

3. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck -

Quick-Step +6

4. Michael Matthews (AUS) Team Sunweb +26

5. Peter Sagan (SVK) BORA - hansgrohe +26

6. Matteo Trentin (ITA) Mitchelton - Scott +26

7. Xandro Meurisse (BEL) Wanty - Gobert

Cycling Team +26

8. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) CCC Team +26

9. Egan Bernal (COL) Team INEOS +26

10. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Team INEOS +26

OVERALL STANDINGS

1. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck - Quick-

Step 34:17:59

2. Giulio Ciccone (ITA) Trek - Segafredo +23

3. Thibaut Pinot (FRA) Groupama - FDJ +53

4. George Bennett (NZL) Team Jumbo -

Visma +1:10

5. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Team INEOS +1:12

6. Egan Bernal (COL) Team INEOS +1:16

7. Steven Kruijswijk (NED) Team Jumbo -

Visma +1:27

8. Rigoberto Urán (COL) EF Education First +1:38

9. Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) Astana Pro Team +1:42

10. Emanuel Buchmann (GER) BORA -

hansgrohe +1:45Swiss great Roger Federer

Hosts England face New

Zealand in the World Cup

final at Lord’s today.

We look at three key

battles in the match:

MORGAN VS

WILLIAMSON

Eyeing history Eoin Morgan

and Kane Williamson both

have the chance to become

national heroes by leading

their teams to World Cup glory

for the first time.

England have enjoyed a

dramatic revival in fortunes

since their limp first-round exit

in 2015 with Morgan at the

helm, infusing his side with a

fearless approach.

The 32-year-old batsman, who

scored an unbeaten 45 in the

hosts’ humbling of Australia on

Thursday, has urged his side to

seize their moment.

“I think Sunday’s not a day

to shy away from, it’s a day

to look forward to,” he said.

Williamson, whose team lost

heavily to England in the

group stage, tried to keep

his players calm after New

Zealand’s stunning victory over

India in the first semi-final on

Wednesday. “Anybody can

beat anybody,” he said. “It’s

important that feet are on the

ground and we look forward to

that challenge.”

With two centuries and two

fifties in his eight innings,

Williamson has led by example

with his elegant batting and

sharp reading of the game.

Batting great Sachin Tendulkar

said Williamson’s “captaincy

and composure” played a key

part in the victory over India.

ROY VS GUPTILL

Opening gambit Jason Roy set

the tone as England tore into

the Australian bowling with

relish on Thursday, dominating

an opening stand of 124

with in-form partner Jonny

Bairstow. Roy, who has been

involved in four successive

century partnerships with

Bairstow, missed three group

games due to a hamstring

injury.

England have won all three

of their matches comfortably

since his return to the side and

he averages an impressive 71

at the tournament.

New Zealand’s Martin Guptill

has struggled badly in England

and Wales, eking out just 167

runs in nine innings, a sharp

contrast from 2015, when he

finished as the top runscorer

in the tournament, hitting

an unbeaten 237 against the

West Indies.

He has proved his prowess in

the field, hitting the stumps

with a direct throw to run

out India’s MS Dhoni in the

semi-final but New Zealand

desperately need his runs at

the top of the order today.

HENRY VS WOAKES

First blood Matt Henry

destroyed India’s illustrious

top order in a ferocious

opening spell of fast bowling

on Wednesday and a repeat

performance would set New

Zealand on the way to their

first World Cup triumph.

His figures of 3-37 included

the key wicket of Rohit Sharma

and, sharing the new ball with

senior partner Trent Boult, the

paceman has now claimed 13

wickets in eight games.

Chris Woakes was England’s

star performer at Edgbaston

as he dismantled the Australia

top-order including taking the

big wicket of David Warner to

return figures of 3-20.

He has combined with Jofra

Archer to give the England

pace attack a sharper edge,

with the new-ball pair claiming

a combined 32 wickets

together in 10 matches.

22 SUNDAY 14 JULY 2019SPORT

AFP LONDON

England face New Zealand in the World Cup final today knowing years of planning come down to a single day at Lord’s.

When England exited the 2015 edition with an embar-rassing defeat by Bangladesh, few were tipping them as potential champions in four years’ time.

As England captain Eoin Morgan put it: “If you had offered us the position to play in a final the day after we were knocked out of the 2015 World Cup, I would have laughed at you.”

One person not laughing was Andrew Strauss, the former England director of cricket.

Drafted into the newly created role, Strauss set about an overhaul that saw the former England captain appoint Australia’s Trevor Bayliss as coach, and place greater emphasis on white-ball cricket.

The worth of all that work showed when Morgan’s men, now top of the one-day

international rankings, thrashed reigning champions Australia by eight wickets in the semi-final at Edgbaston on Thursday.

Many of the elements that made England the pre-tour-nament favourites were on show in Birmingham.

Pacemen Jofra Archer and

Chris Woakes reduced Aus-tralia to 14-3, leg-spinner Adil Rashid took wickets in the middle and the dynamic duo of Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow - statistically the most successful opening pair in ODI history - launched the run chase with a blistering century partnership.

The challenge for England is to embrace the hype sur-rounding today’s fixture without letting it inhibit them from playing their brand of “fearless” cricket.

By reaching the final, England have guaranteed an international match will be shown live on free-to-air tel-evision in Britain for the first time since the iconic 2005 Ashes series -- a chance to inspire a new generation.

“I think Sunday’s not a day to shy away from, it’s a day to look forward to,” said Morgan, an outrider in English cricket in becoming an ODI specialist when the steely Dubliner realised his Test career had stalled. It is perhaps appropriate that England are facing New Zealand in a final between two sides who have yet to win the World Cup.

For it was the Black Caps who showed England how to play the modern one-day game at the 2015 edition in Wellington four years ago.

They shot out England for just 123 and then overhauled that total in a mere 12.2 overs.

“It was as close to

rock-bottom as I’ve been”, said Morgan. “Certainly as a captain and as a player, being beaten off the park like that was humiliating.”

England gained a measure of revenge with a 119-run thrashing of New Zealand in a group-stage match earlier in this World Cup. But that is unlikely to count for much today.

All tournament long, the same comment has been made about New Zealand -- they boast a well-balanced attack led by left-arm quick Trent Boult but are over-reliant on captain Kane Williamson and fellow senior batsman Ross Taylor for their runs.

The polite Kiwis have responded by continuing to “scrap”, in the phrase of fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, their way to wins as demonstrated by their dramatic 18-run semi-final victory over India.

Boult and Matt Henry reduced one of the world’s most powerful top orders to 5-3, before left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, aided by superb fielding, backed them up after Williamson and Taylor had made battling fifties on a tricky pitch.

While many members of the home side were not even born when England made the last of three losing appearances in a World Cup final in 1992, the Black Caps have the expe-rience of their heavy defeat by co-hosts Australia in the climax of the 2015 edition in Mel-bourne to call on.

“I’d be lying if I said we weren’t a bit overawed by the change of scenery,” said Taylor as he looked back to New Zea-land’s first and only match on Australian soil in that tournament.

“I think we know what to expect, the pressures that come with it, we’ve been there before.

“You just have to enjoy it, it’s the ‘Home of Cricket’, I can’t think of a better place to play a final.”

England’s Eoin Morgan and Jonny

Bairstow during nets yesterday.

This general view shows the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup final between England and

New Zealand today.

Lord’s Cricket Ground set to host CWC title clash

New Zealand’s captain Kane Williamson (centre) speaks with his players as they take part in a training session at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup final against England to be played today.

Three key battles

Omens point to New Zealand winning World Cup: HansenAFP WELLINGTON

Celebrated All Blacks mentor Steve Hansen believes New Zealand’s loss to England in the group stages of the Cricket World Cup will be to their advantage in today’s final.

The coaching maestro, who is bidding for a third rugby World Cup success with the All Blacks this year, said when teams play each other twice in a tournament it is a psychological disadvantage to win the first match.

“The advantage is held by the team that loses because I think mentally it’s very hard not to subconsciously think, ‘well, we’ve beaten these guys before’, so you soften yourself a little bit, subconsciously,

it’s not a deliberate thing,” he told Radio Sport yesterday. England beat New Zealand by 119 runs to make the semi-finals and then downed Australia by eight wickets to make the final.

New Zealand, who only scraped into the semis on a superior run rate than Pakistan, then beat tournament favourites India by 18 runs to reach the final

“England played Australia (in the group stages) and Australia thumped them. So, you start getting a little bit ahead of yourself and start thinking about stuff you shouldn’t,” Hansen said.

In the 2015 World Cup, New Zealand beat Australia in the pool stages then lost to their trans-Tasman neighbours in the final. Hansen, an assistant coach when the All Blacks struggled to an 8-7 win over

France in the 2011 World Cup final in Auckland, added that hometown pressure was also a factor which could count against England in cricket’s showpiece at the famous Lords ground.

“If you’re not used to that kind of pressure it can overwhelm you. So probably, advantage to New Zealand, because no one is expecting them to win in England... it takes all the pressure off you. Are they capable of winning it? I think they are.”

Hansen was also an assistant coach of the All Blacks when they started as red-hot favourites in the 2007 World Cup only to be bundled out in the quarter-finals.

He said the lesson from that shock loss was the same as it was for India captain

Virat Kholi when the Black Caps beat them in the cricket semi-final.

“He made a pertinent point that ‘we’ve played outstanding cricket in this tour-nament, apart from 45 minutes, and that’s the reason why we’re not going’,” to the final. If you’re in a knock-out tournament, as (the All Blacks) found out in 2007, if you don’t get it right in the 80 minutes, for us, and the 45 minutes, for the Indians, then you go home.”

His advice for both sides facing the pressure of a final was not to focus on what will happen if they lose but to think about what will happen if they win.

“Immediately, if you say that to yourself, there’s a different feeling.

“Your eyes light up, there’s a smile on your face.”

England face day of destiny in Cup final against New Zealand

23SUNDAY 14 JULY 2019 SPORT

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Morgan hails McCullum influence ahead of finalAFP LONDON

England captain Eoin Morgan paid tribute to former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum ahead of his side’s World Cup final against the Black Caps at Lord’s today.

Four years ago, a New Zealand side led by McCullum shot out England for just 123 in a World Cup group match and then overhauled that total in a mere 12.2 overs, leaving Morgan feeling as “close to rock bottom as I’ve been”.

New Zealand went on to finish runners-up to co-hosts Australia while England crashed out in the group stage.

McCullum has since retired from international duty and now Morgan finds himself leading England against New Zealand in the World Cup final.

Morgan has long acknowl-edged England’s debt to New

Zealand for their one-day inter-national revival and, speaking to reporters at Lord’s on Sat-urday, he had warm words for McCullum.

“We are close mates and he’s taught me a lot about

leadership,” he said. “I think in 2015 the way that New Zealand played, they proved to eve-rybody that you can perform at the highest level and get to the top by being yourselves and not trying to be somebody else, or a

d i f f e r e n t team.”

England, l ike New Zealand, have never won the World Cup, with the last of their three losing appear-ances in the final back in 1992.

“It means a huge amount to me and to everybody in the changing room,” said Morgan when asked about

the magnitude of Sunday’s match.

“It’s the culmination of four years of hard work and dedi-cation, a lot of planning.”

England played close to the perfect game in defeating

reigning champions Australia in a lopsided semi-final at Edg-baston on Thursday.

Asked if they would need to hit similar heights against a New Zealand team who upset the odds to beat India by 18 runs in their last-four clash, Morgan replied: “I think we will -- New Zealand were the best team in the group stage.”

Back-to-back group-stage defeats by Sri Lanka and Aus-tralia effectively left England playing knockout cricket before the semi-finals but they got their campaign back on track with impressive group-wins over India and New Zealand, who they overwhelmed by 119 runs at Durham’s Chester-le-Street headquarters.

“I think it has helped us because it’s lent itself to actually being more positive and aggressive and a bit smarter about how we play and it’s sort of been the last-chance saloon

since Durham, which has been nice in a way,” explained Morgan.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been in superb form with the bat during the tournament, scoring 548 runs at an eye-catching average of 91.33.

But he was unluckily run out for just 27 against England when bowler Mark Wood deflected a drive on to the stumps at the non-striker’s end.

Morgan, asked if star batsman Williamson had a weakness, replied to laughter from the assembled media: “His backing up, I think.”

On a more serious note, Morgan said he had not thought about what it would mean to win the World Cup.

“I haven’t allowed myself to think about lifting the trophy. Cricket and sport in particular is very fickle. If you ever get ahead, it always seems to bite you in the backside,” he said.

Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum (right) speaks with players at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

England on verge of World Cup greatness, says WaughAFP LONDON

Steve Waugh says England could go down as one of the greatest teams in one-day cricket history if they beat New Zealand to clinch their first World Cup today.

Eoin Morgan’s side are firm favourites to win the Lord’s showpiece after thumping Aus-tralia by eight wickets in Bir-mingham on Thursday to reach their first final in 27 years.

“It’s one of the best one-day teams I’ve seen and would compete against anyone from previous eras but ultimately they will be judged on Sunday,” said Waugh, who won two World Cups with Australia.

“If they win that they may go down as one of the great one-day sides. If they lose then I guess they’re just back to being one of the other teams that didn’t quite make it. They have the potential to be a great one-day team.”

Victory for the top-ranked ODI side would mark the end of a remarkable journey from the pain of an early exit at the 2015 World Cup to the ultimate prize in the game.

Former Australia captain Waugh picked out Jason Roy and Jofra Archer as two of the key men for the host nation but said they had “11 potential match-winners”.

“They play without fear. I think that’s very hard to do in professional sport and there’s no weakness in the side,” he said. “They are a very good fielding side, they bat all the way down, numerous bowling options It’s a pretty complete side.”

Waugh said it was not easy to pick out a key man for England.

“Jason Roy is the form player of the tournament right now and looks in incredible form,” he added.

“I think Archer has given England that X factor so those two guys are form payers but I wouldn’t be surprised if Ben Stokes steps up to the plate in the final and produces some-thing special.”

Neither England nor New Zealand have ever won the World Cup and Waugh said it would be good for the game to have a new name on the trophy.

“I think it would be really important for someone like New Zealand,” he said.

“It’s a great rugby country, it’s probably the greatest sporting team in the world, the All Blacks. Cricket is always hard for them to get a bit of a foothold so to make the final and potentially win would be game-changing for New Zealand.

Archer takes World Cup final in his strideAFP BIRMINGHAM

Jofra Archer says he will have no problems keeping his cool even during a World Cup final that comes just over two months after his England debut.

The 24-year-old Barbados-born fast bowler, whose father is English, made his international debut in May after changes to the England and Wales Cricket Board’s residency rules saw him become eligible sooner than expected.

He has now taken an England-record 19 wickets at a World Cup to help the hosts into today’s final against New Zealand at Lord’s.

The Sussex paceman played a key role in England’s

eight-wicket semi-final thrashing of Australia at Edg-baston on Thursday, trapping captain Aaron Finch lbw with his first ball of the match before a well-disguised slower delivery deceived dangerman Glenn Maxwell.

England have never won the World Cup and made the last of their three losing appearances in the final in 1992 -- before Archer was born.

Archer, however, is deter-mined the showpiece occasion at the ‘home of cricket’ will not overwhelm him.

“I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet. But the calmer you are the better you are in these situa-tions,” he said.

“I just think I’ve always been like this. I try not to get nervous

because then you end up doing stuff that you are not really sup-posed to do.

“Butterflies? Not really. Even when we were at breakfast before Australia. I may be wrong but I don’t think anyone looked nervous. Everyone just looked focused by the time we got into the ground. It’s those little things that make you feel like the guys are really ready.”

Archer’s ability to bowl at sharp pace in seemingly effortless fashion makes him a tough customer to face, partic-ularly when he unleashes a bouncer with no change to a relaxed action.

Alex Carey misjudged such a delivery on Thursday, a short ball from Archer knocking off his helmet and cutting him on the

chin before the patched-up wicketkeeper carried on.

“Sometimes you don’t always mean to hit them,” explained Archer. “It can be a wicket-taking ball or a dot ball. When it hits them you feel a little bit bad for doing it but it’s cricket.”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has forecast that Archer will make a Test debut in the Ashes series against Australia that starts at Edg-baston next month.

But Archer said talk of a Test call-up could wait.

“After Sunday, I’ll probably answer that but for now I’m just focusing on trying to win the final,” he said. “I’ll keep sol-diering on. I have been for a few

games now and it’s not got any worse. I was probably going to rest anyway but I don’t think Sussex are going to flog me right now.”

England could bring World Cup high into Ashes, says PontingREUTERS LONDON

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes England’s success in their home World Cup may bode ill for Australia’s hopes of retaining the Ashes.

England knocked Australia out of the semi-finals with an emphatic eight-wicket win and another over New Zealand in Sun-day’s final will see the hosts head into next month’s five-test Ashes series with significant momentum.

“It probably does, to be honest,” Ponting said, when asked whether England’s 50-over success could spill over.

“The country will be on a bit of a wave and a bit of a high, the players will certainly be on a huge high after that World Cup.

“But who knows if they don’t (win), it might have an adverse effect on their Ashes campaign as well.

“You can take lots of things from different series.

“It’s a completely different series going into an Ashes and there will be quite a few different players in their Test team than will be in this one-day team. They’ll have different captains as well. But I’m sure if they happen to win the World Cup, they’ll take as much as they can from it going into the Ashes.”

Australia hold the urn after thrashing England 4-0 on home soil in the 2017-18 Ashes. The first Ashes Test starts at Edgbaston on August 1.

Ponting, hired as an assistant coach to Justin Langer for Australia’s World Cup campaign, watched Aaron Finch’s side fall to South Africa and England in successive matches to bow out of the tournament after they had been the first side to book their place in the semi-finals.

Injuries did not help Australia’s cause and Ponting was not pre-pared to wear the blame for the side’s tactical preparations.

“Tactically, I think we got things right. Personnel-wise, we picked the best team that we could for every game,” Ponting told Cricket Australia’s website (cricket.com.au). “Unusually for Australian teams in World Cups, we played our worst cricket in the most critical moments. “That’ll be the thing that gets spoken about the most and see if there’s any reason behind it.”

England’s Ben Stokes takes part in a training session at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Jofra Archer (left) and Adil Rashid during the World Cup semi-final against Australia at Edgbaston in this on July 11, 2019, file photo.

REUTERS SILVERSTONE

Valtteri Bottas beat crowd favourite and Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton by a w a f e r - t h i n m a r g i n yesterday to deny his Mercedes team mate a fifth successive British Grand Prix pole position.

The Finn was a mere 0.006 of a second quicker than the five times world champion as the two Silver Arrows once again locked out the front row of the grid on a cloudy afternoon at Silverstone.

Ferrari’s young Mon-egasque Charles Leclerc will share the second row with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who won the previous race in Austria where the two

21-year-olds clashed on track while fighting for victory in the closing laps.

The pole, in a time of one minute 25.093 seconds, was Bottas’s fourth in 10 races this season -- more than any other driver -- and career 10th.

Bottas is 31 points adrift

of Hamilton in the champi-onship and needs to close the gap, fully aware that his team mate has a habit of hitting full throttle once the August break is out of the way.

Hamilton remains well-placed, however, to take a record sixth home win and 80th of his career.

PAGE | 21 PAGE | 22Roger Federer

seeks to dethrone Novak Djokovic at

Wimbledon

England face day of destiny in World Cup final against New Zealand

24SUNDAY 14 JULY 2019

Wimbledon, F1 and Cricket cause confusion on ‘Blockbuster Sunday’

BLOOMBERG LONDON

Three of Britain’s biggest sporting events of the year clash today, creating a headache for fans and tele-vision networks and annoying one of the richest people in world sports.

England’s national cricket team is playing its first World Cup final in 27 years, with coverage starting at 9am on Channel 4. The match, against New Zealand, could be boiling up just as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic do battle for the men’s title at Wimbledon -- scheduled for 2pm on the BBC, also free-to-air.

Meanwhile, coverage of the British Grand Prix starts on Channel 4 at 1:15pm, pushing the cricket to the More 4 channel until after the race. Not forgetting cycling’s Tour de France on ITV.

For Formula 1 champion Lewis

Hamilton, the scheduling is baffling. It could mean fewer people will tune in to watch him try for a record sixth victory at his home Grand Prix.

“This is such a special weekend and it needs all the focus of the country and not a small amount,” he told reporters. “People will be switching between channels on Sunday not sure what to watch.”

Part of the confusion stems from the fact that cricket has been on pay-TV for several years and Sky Plc agreed to share broadcasting with a free-to-air channel if England made the final. Also, the World Cup takes place every four years and in dif-ferent regions, so there isn’t always a clash in programming. India holds the next edition, in 2023.

“It’s going to create even more of a push to second screen viewing. So you already have this phenomenon where people are watching one thing and then messing around on Twitter

on their phone, but perhaps they’ll also be watching something else on their phone or on their tablet,” said John Davies, a media analyst.

For now, Britain’s legion of arm-chair sports fans will just have to make do with multi-tasking.

“The scheduling could have been better, but as a lifelong cricket fan I really can’t complain,” said Christian Taylor, a Londoner who’s figuring out his TV strategy with his family.

“Being big fans of Formula 1 and Wimbledon also, there’s certainly going to be a decent amount of channel hopping, but we’re just looking forward to a day of high quality sport.”

The focus next weekend will be far simpler, and more exclusive -- golf’s British Open starts on Thursday at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, and culminates today. It’s only available to UK fans on Sky.

Bottas pips Hamilton to grab British GP pole

Halep wins maiden Wimbledon titleRomanian star spoils Serena’s 24th Slam bid with stunning show in final

SIMONA HALEPDATE OF BIRTH: September 27, 1991PLACE OF BIRTH: Constanta, RomaniaRESIDENCE: Constanta, RomaniaTURNED PRO: 2006HEIGHT: 5ft 6in (1.68m)WORLD RANKING: 7CAREER SINGLES TITLES: 19CAREER GRAND SLAM TITLES: 2 (French Open 2018, Wimbledon 2019)CAREER PRIZE MONEY: $33,141,788

AFP LONDON

Simona Halep torpedoed Serena Williams’s latest bid to capture a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam yesterday when she stormed to a sensa-tional victory in a 56-minute Wimbledon final.

The 27-year-old Romanian cap-tured her second career major with a 6-2, 6-2 victory adding a maiden Wim-bledon -- the first for her country in both men’s and women’s singles -- to her 2018 Roland Garros triumph.

Defeat for 37-year-old Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon champion who won the last of her 23 Slam titles at the 2017 Australian Open, meant her attempt to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record for major wins was put back on ice until at least the US Open.

“My mom said when I was 10 that if I want to do something in tennis I have to play in the final at Wimbledon,” said Halep.

“I had lots of nerves, my stomach wasn’t very well. I have never played a better match.

“I said at the start of the tournament that one of my motivations was to win and become a lifetime member of the club.”

Williams bluntly admitted she had not been at the races against a superior opponent.

“She played out of her mind. I was like a deer in the headlights,” said Williams.

Williams was undone by 26 unforced errors to Halep’s two.

Williams may have kept Halep waiting to go on court but if she hoped that would upset her opponent it did quite the opposite.

Indeed the Halep fan who burst into song -- waving a Romanian scarf from the 2015 Rugby World Cup -- singing “We love you Simona, we do!”

served to give her the boost to rattle Williams from the start.

A flashing forehand crosscourt set the tone and she broke her in the first game.

She broke again to lead 3-0 -- things clearly not going Williams’s way when a Halep shot clipped the net and went over but the American’s shot also clipped the net but failed to go over.

Already 3-0 down after eight minutes, Williams was completely at sea and by the time Halep served to lead 4-0 Williams had won just six points.

She finally got on the board with her next service game but Halep had little trouble in sealing the set which included another remarkable point from the Romanian.

The 27-year-old raced to retrieve an incredible get which sneaked over the net and Williams was only able to put her shot into the net.

Williams -- who has let slip opportunities to equal Court’s record in last year’s Wimbledon and US Open finals -- appeared to at last get fired up in the first game of the second set.

She let out a long yell at the ground when she won a point on her serve and another on the next point.

However, that was a rare show of her fiery side as Halep broke her to lead 3-2.

Halep rubbed in her superiority to break her again for 5-2 -- two pow-erful serves earlier in the game had Williams saying why was I not able

to do this earlier -- and took the match and the title with aplomb with the first of her three match

points.She sank to her knees a

broad smile on her face before rising to hug Williams.

Her victory also gave Halep’s favoured royal Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, bragging rights over sister-in-law Meghan, Duchess of

Sussex -- they were sitting beside each other in the Royal Box.

Meghan is a close friend of Williams.

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RECENT WIMBLEDON WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS

2019: Simona Halep (ROM)2018: Angelique Kerber (GER)2017: Garbine Muguruza (ESP)2016: Serena Williams (USA)2015: Serena Williams (USA)

2014: Petra Kvitova (CZE)2013: Marion Bartoli (FRA)

2012: Serena Williams (USA)2011: Petra Kvitova (CZE)

2010: Serena Williams (USA)

I never played a better match. My mom said when I was 10 that if I want to do something in tennis I have to play in the final at Wimbledon. I said at the start of the tournament that one of my motivations was to win and become a lifetime member of the club: Simona Halep

That was an amazing performance. It’s fantastic. It’s not a surprise she won because mentally she was ready for this win and it’s now time for all of Romania to celebrate: five-time Olympic gold medallist Nadia Comeneci

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas reacts after British GP pole.