After 153mph serve breaks Wimbledon record, just how fast can they get?
Another of the curiosities is that 'servebot' — as in robotic serving machine — was a put-down that used to be aimed at Fritz. Fritz still has one of the fastest and most effective serves in the game. Here, though, in the story that played out on No1 Court, overnight Monday and finishing on Tuesday, he was the man with the hard hat on having to use all his guile and hand skill to tame the Frenchman's thunderbolts.
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Times
23 minutes ago
- Times
Short boundaries scramble India minds but will aid England's Bazballers
Ben Stokes' tenure as England captain has been marked by a restless search for ideas and innovation, and before play had even started at Edgbaston we had evidence of another tactical gambit: the boundary ropes had been brought in well inside the LED perimeter boards, further in than they were here for last year's Test against West Indies or the Ashes Test of 2023. In fact, it was confirmed by match officials that the boundary on no part of the ground was longer than 71 yards (64.9 metres) from the wicket, and in the cases of the straight boundary to the pavilion and the boundary from there round to the adjacent West Stand it was between 66 and 69 yards. These are at the short end of what is deemed acceptable under the playing regulations for the ICC World Test Championship. These state that, 'no boundary shall be longer than 90 yards [or] shorter than 65 yards from the centre of the pitch'; also that, 'the aim shall be to maximise the size of the playing area at each venue'. The regulations also explain that: 'Before the match the umpires shall consult with the home board to determine the boundary of the field of play'. Once the game is under way, the boundary lengths must remain fixed throughout. The clearest evidence of the boundaries being brought in was in two corners in front of the scoreboard and the Hollies Stand, where there was unused playing area beyond the rope, testing the stipulation that 'the boundary rope cannot be set at a distance of more than ten yards from the perimeter fence', not to mention the aim of maximising the playing area. For the safety of boundary fielders there has to be at least a three-yard run-off area beyond the rope. It can be taken as read that the umpires' consultations with the 'home board' actually means a conversation with the head groundsman, who will have taken his instructions from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum. Asked on the eve of the Test about how England conveyed their wishes regarding the pitch to the Edgbaston groundsman Gary Barwell, Stokes said: 'There's communication throughout … We give as much information as we can to suit what team we want to go for — and how we want to play our cricket as well.' Why did England want short boundaries? It may be because they suspected India would select two spinners — Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar — and that this was a ploy which would help their batsmen take them on. If you are going to attack a spinner, best do so when the boundaries are short. More likely, though, it fitted England's general approach to batting, which is to bury their opponents under sheer weight of runs scored at such a speed that it allows their bowlers time to take 20 wickets. With Stokes winning the toss and opting to bowl first for their tenth time in 11 home Tests since he became captain in 2022, England may well face another run-chase against the clock at the end of this game. They may need everything in their favour. Since Stokes took over, England have scored at a breathtaking 4.66 runs per over in home Tests, with Trent Bridge (4.92) and Edgbaston (4.90) the venues where their muscular batting has tended to find greatest expression. The short boundary did not really come into play until Rishabh Pant decided to target the inviting area in front of the scoreboard when facing Shoaib Bashir. He cleared the rope once for the day's first six but when he tried it again after tea he holed out to Zak Crawley at wide long-on, whose celebration suggested a plan had come to fruition. A short boundary may be easier to clear with a good contact, but it can also mess with a batsman's thinking. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. England have used these tactics before. In the 2005 Ashes, they deliberately commissioned short boundaries to increase their chances against Shane Warne. There were risks attached though, because Australia's batsmen thrived on hitting boundaries themselves and Michael Vaughan had to work hard to deny them with boundary-sweepers and short-covers. When England plundered 407 runs on the first day of the Edgbaston Test, Australian commentators grumbled about the ground's 'ridiculously short boundaries'. During the series, Kevin Pietersen hit eight sixes off Warne, five off Brett Lee and one off Glenn McGrath into the Lord's pavilion in the opening Test to signal his intent. There was some discussion about England using shorter boundaries to take the attack to Australia during the 2023 Ashes, but in the event they did not do so to any great degree. The outfield at Headingley was so fast for the first Test against India that England did not need any help scoring fast, but they now seem to have taken steps to give their Bazballers a further boost.
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Nick Kyrgios still a regular at pub where he drank the night before Nadal clash
Nick Kyrgios remains a regular at the Wimbledon pub where he was famously spotted drinking the night before his explosive 2019 Centre Court clash with Rafael Nadal. The Australian made headlines six years ago after being seen at the Dog & Fox in Wimbledon Village on the eve of his second-round showdown, which he lost in four volatile sets. Despite the controversy at the time, staff say the 30-year-old keeps returning to the pub – most recently on Friday – and has never caused trouble. Pub manager Alfie Stockwell, 28, said: 'He comes here quite often, especially during Wimbledon. 'He really likes it here. He's been nothing but nice. We let them do their own thing. 'He's friendly enough: I suppose it depends what mood he's in, which is fair enough.' Kyrgios, unseeded at the time, had beaten fellow Australian Jordan Thompson in five sets to set up the blockbuster match with Nadal, which became laced with tension after a war of words between the pair.
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Katie Boulter ponders whether her Wimbledon moment will ever come
Katie Boulter conceded her Wimbledon 'moment' might never come after her grand slam struggles continued with a meek second-round exit at the hands of little-known Argentinian rookie Solana Sierra. The British number two successfully overturned a 5-2 deficit to take a shaky opening set on a tie-break before succumbing to a shock 6-7 (7) 6-2 6-1 defeat. World number 43 Boulter admitted she ran out of ideas towards the end of an error-strewn Court One display. She has never progressed beyond the third round at any of tennis' four major tournaments and for the second Wimbledon in a row failed to even make it that far. 'Of course it hurts, it's a really tough pill to swallow – it always is here,' said Boulter. 'Unfortunately it's just the way that it is. Sometimes I just have to accept that my moment might not come at some point. 'I'm just going to keep working hard and keep trying my hardest. Ultimately that's all I can do and keep putting myself out there and keep improving every single year. 'You can look at a piece of paper and be like, 'oh, this is a terrible loss'. Ultimately, she played better than me on the day. That's how it is.' Boulter, who was beaten by compatriot Harriet Dart at the same stage 12 months ago, began the tournament in promising fashion by masterminding a statement three-set upset against ninth seed Paula Badosa. But having gone from underdog to overwhelming favourite in the space of two days and with Spain's Cristina Bucsa awaiting the winner, the 28-year-old was unable to deliver against the world number 101. She served 14 double faults, made 36 unforced errors and lost 10 of 11 games across sets two and three as 21-year-old lucky loser Sierra deservedly progressed in an hour and 53 minutes. 'I would have quite liked to have been more out there with my personality than within myself at the very end of the match,' said Boulter. 'At the same time, I was also running out of ideas. 'I understand that people have good expectations, and I have high expectations of myself as well. 'I don't necessarily feel like I completely lost the match. I think last year I probably sat here and said that I lost the match (against Dart) personally. 'This year I'm not going to sit here and say that. I think she played a good match. But I have to go back to the drawing board for myself.'
