PRIZE ..AND SHINE
» Cricket, tennis & F1 to thrill on balmy weekend » Food & drink rush as we bet £100m on action
THE whole nation looks game for some fun on a sizzling weekend of sporting, barbie and boozing action.
Super Sunday is one of the biggest sporting weekends ever and bookies expect £100million to be wagered – while retailers are bracing for a stampede to buy food and drink.
Most of the UK will have a dry, fine weekend with sunny spells and temperatures hitting highs of 21 or 22C across the South East.
And the hottest sporting ticket is the cricket as England bid to lift the World Cup for the first time tomorrow.
Captain Eoin Morgan has vowed to seize the day when they take on New Zealand at Lord’s in their first final in 27 years.
The players’ wives and girlfriends, who have bowled fans over with their support for the stars, will be cheering them on from the crowd. And the match comes on the same day Lewis Hamilton bids to extend his Formula 1 World Championship lead in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Then there is the Wimbledon men’s singles final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer – which follows Serena Williams’ bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title against Simona Halep on Centre Court today. Singer Pixie Lott, 28, was in smashing form as she wore her whites to watch Federer beat Rafael Nadal in their thrilling semi-final in South West London yesterday.
And TV presenter Declan Donnelly, 43, and wife Ali Astall, 40, were spotted joking with DJ Chris Evans, 53, in the Wimbledon crowd. Meanwhile, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are also in action this weekend in the Netball
World Cup. And Geraint Thomas defends his Tour de France title while jockey Frankie Dettori is in the saddle at Newmarket.
Alex Apati of bookies Ladbrokes said: “Punters are sinking their teeth into a whole host of sporting action in the absence of football and we’re expecting around £100million to be staked this weekend alone.”
Harry Aitkenhead, of bookies Coral, added: “England are the hot favourites to win the Cricket World Cup while Lewis Hamilton is also odds-on to win the British Grand Prix.
“Our old friend Frankie Dettori is on board the favourite in the July Cup.”
“Wimbledon also draws to a close and the men’s final is sure to provide a thrilling spectacle.”
But there was equal excitement about the feast shaping up beyond the sporting action. Kyle Monk, head of retail insight and analytics at the British Retail Consortium, said: “The of Cricket World Cup, Wimbledon Final, F1 British Grand Prix and Tour de France is likely to boost sales for various goods, particularly alcohol and snacks.
“Given the poor sales figures for June, retailers will be hoping the weekend’s sport will give a much-needed boost to consumer spending.”
It is estimated 25 million pints will be sold on Sunday alone as we head to pubs and bars to watch the sporting action unfold. Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer
& Pub Association, said: “Pubs will be showing as much sport as they can on television and of course pubs are the best place to watch live sport.”
And the good news for sports fans is that all the action will be broadcast live on TV throughout the day – including the cricket.
Live cricket had until now only been available to Sky Sports subscribers.
But Channel 4 will be airing Sky coverage from 9am tomorrow.
The match will switch to More 4 at 1.15pm to make way for the Silverstone Grand Prix at 2.10pm, returning to C4 after the race.
Live coverage from Lord’s will also be available on Sky One.
England captain Morgan was among those to praise Sky Sports for ensuring tomorrow’s’s final can achieve the biggest cricketing audicombination
ence since 2005’s Ashes. C4 chief executive Alex Mahon said: “This is fantastic news for cricket fans and the nation. This Sunday is a massive day for British sport with England tantalisingly close to lifting the Cricket World Cup for the first time and Lewis Hamilton setting his sights on his seventh season win at Silverstone – all live on Channel 4. “The big winners of this strong partnership between Channel 4 and Sky are sports fans and viewers who want to come together for these big sporting occasions.”
Sky UK and Ireland chief executive Stephen van Rooyen added: “England in the final on home soil is a huge moment for sport in this country and we are proud to be the host broadcaster.”
We’re expecting around £100million to be staked this weekend alone ALEX APATI OF LADBROKES ON SPORTS FANS’ BETTING SPLURGE