Camilla’s the No.1 Wimbledon fan as stars cheer from Royal Box
Morgan comes out swinging at Pietersen and insists there will be no backing away from Aussies today
WIMBLEDON served up a treat for Royal fans yesterday
– with the Duchess of Cornwall leading the cheers on Centre Court.
Camilla, 71, was joined by Sophie Wessex while Zara Tindall also made an appearance.
They enjoyed a day out in the glorious sunshine at the All England Club where superstars Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were in action.
Their appearance was in stark contrast with a visit by the Duchess of Sussex last week.
Meghan, 37, was at the centre of a furore after she was photographed sitting with two friends surrounded by empty public seats and upset traditionalists by wearing jeans in the members’ area.
Camilla, who wore a white dress and fanned herself to keep cool, also chatted to ball boys and girls and competitors in the wheelchair events during a behind-the-scenes tour.
Later she was joined in the Royal Box by the Countess of Wessex and Prince Albert of Monaco. The Queen’s granddaughter Zara sat
among fans with husband Mike. The Duchess of Cambridge’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton also watched the action. Meanwhile showbusiness royalty was out in force, with singers Sir Cliff Richard, Dame Shirley Bassey and Elaine Paige in the crowd along with modelling legend Dame Twiggy Lawson, TV’s Fiona Bruce and Sir Michael Parkinson. Sir Andy Murray’s dreams of glory ended as he crashed out of the mixed doubles with partner Serena Williams 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to top seeds Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar. Meanwhile Spanish outsider Roberto Bautista Agut had to scrap plans to meet six pals for his stag do in Ibiza – after getting through to the semi-finals.
EOIN MORGAN delivered a withering put-down of his critics ahead of England’s bid to reach a first World Cup final in 27 years.
The England skipper insisted he was ready to deal with the threat of Aussie pace ace Mitchell Starc after Kevin Pietersen accused him of being “scared” during their group-stage defeat.
Ex-England star Pietersen suggested Morgan had backed away when facing Starc’s first delivery last month. Morgan could barely conceal his contempt for
Pietersen’s attempt to spoil dressing-room harmony as England bid to join New Zealand in Sunday’s final.
“When Kevin Pietersen comes out with a comment, it’s very similar to comments I address from Geoffrey Boycott,” said Morgan.
“They’re not ones that are considered good for a team environment and don’t take the best interests of the team or the player at heart.
“Guys are trying their heart out to do well for their country, trying to learn, trying to get better.We have critics being critics.
“They need to do that, that’s their job, so let them be. I don’t think we could be better prepared. We’re extremely excited and looking forward to it.”
Morgan was undone by the short ball from Starc in the defeat last month at Lord’s, when he was caught on the hook for four during the 64-run defeat.
But he has had plenty of success against Starc, including scoring 87 at Edgbaston in the Champions Trophy two years ago as England cruised home. “Starc’s a very good bowler and they have quite a few fine bowlers,” added Morgan.
“He obviously had a good day at Lord’s. Going into any game of cricket, you are going to be challenged.
“Possibly four years ago I was challenged in that area, but since then I’ve been challenged in different areas and over the past two years I’ve managed to counter that.
“The last two games we played against two of the other semi-finalists and we managed to produce something near our best performances in the World Cup so far.”
After four years of planning, playing, entertaining and trusting the method that Morgan instigated back in 2015, the 32-year-old is confident nothing will shake his players from that style now.
“The level of expectation in the side is to go and justify how we play as a team,” he added. “If that means getting knocked out or winning the next game or winning the World Cup, I think the guys will be happy.
“Our strength is the way that we play and sticking to that, no matter how long we have left in the tournament, is important to us.”