England men set for Dutch showdown

England Head Coach Bobby Crutchley has named a squad of 20 players for the NOW: Pensions Nations Cup, which starts tomorrow. The tournament will see England play the world number three side, Netherlands, on Thursday 1, Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 August. Both sides will operate a rotation system with 18 athletes being selected for each match.

Playing the Netherlands on home turf at Wakefield ahead of the TriFinance EuroHockey Championships, which start on August 17, forms a key part of England’s final preparations. And England will be looking to get even with the side ranked one place above them in the world after a 6-1 loss last week at the ERGO Hamburg Masters.

Crutchley has recalled the Beeston duo of Ollie Willars and Ben Arnold to the 20 strong line-up, with the only other change from Hamburg being a goalkeeper switch; Reading’s James Bailey steps back in for Cannock’s Patrick Smith.

Despite the defeat last week, England Head Coach Bobby Crutchley is looking forward to the battle ahead, “We’re really pleased to get such a quality side to come and play us in our final preparations for the European championships and the team is looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd for the first time since the Olympics.”

Adding his thoughts on the Netherlands and recent results, he added, “They are obviously a top team and after hitting peak form in London, coming away with an Olympic silver medal, they have continued that high level of play. We know it will be a strong challenge but it’s one that we have to try and match and given our world rankings [Netherlands number three and England number four] it will be a good indication of where we currently are.”

Summing up last week’s defeat at the Hamburg Masters, Crutchley said, “If we are off our game and do not play at the right intensity then the Netherland have the potential to put a good score on you, like they did in Hamburg. They will exploit us if we are slightly off our game, but we know what we need to do better. Our individual defence will be key, along with our ability to retain possession and create and convert more goal scoring opportunities.”

England’s first game against the Netherlands is tomorrow at 20:00. Prior to the senior men’s games, England’s U21 men will face Malaysia as part of their preparations for the U21 World Cup later this year. Full schedule is listed below.

Tickets for the NOW: Pensions Nations Cup are being sold through Ticket Zone online, by clicking on the web button on England Hockey’s homepage www.englandhockey.co.uk, or by calling the England Hockey ticket hotline on 08444 99 32 22. Family, multiple match and advanced ticket discounts are available.

Match fixtures:
Thursday 1 August 2013 – gates open 16:00

17:30 – England U21s v Malaysia U21s

20:00 – England v Netherlands

Saturday 3 August 2013 – gates open 12:30

14:00 – England U21s v Malaysia U21s

16:30 – England v Netherlands

Sunday 4 August 2013 – gates open 10:30

12:00 – England U21s v Malaysia U21s

14:30 – England v Netherlands

England Men’s Squad for NOW: Pensions Nations Cup

Name (Position)

Ben Arnold (Forward)

James Bailey (Goalkeeper)