The England Hockey squad for the forthcoming men's ABN AMRO FIH Champions Trophy has been announced. Head Coach Jason Lee has recalled several of the athletes that made way for less experienced players in Great Britain's squad for the International Four Nations Tournament in Nottingham last week. 18 year old Brooklands MU defender Andy Bull has kept his place after making his senior international debut in Nottingham.
Surbiton pair Ben Hawes and Rob Moore rejoin the group with Hampstead & Westminster defender Dan Fox also returning. Loughborough Students' Richard Smith, who was originally named in the Great Britain squad but who was withdrawn to allow him more time to recover from injury, has also been selected.
18 year old Bull, who played for England Hockey under 18 boys at Easter and the under 21s in early May, has been retained by Lee after impressing against Japan, New Zealand and Germany at Highfields Sports Club. Reading's Richard Mantell and Surbiton's Matt Daly are still being treated for injuries sustained during and prior to the World Cup respectively.
The ABN AMRO FIH Champions Trophy gets underway in M├Ânchengladbach, Germany, on Saturday 31 July and runs until Sunday 8 August. Prior to their departure next week, a larger England Hockey training squad will take part in a four day training camp.
England, ranked sixth in the world, finished sixth at the 2009 tournament in Melbourne and qualified for the 2010 edition on the back of a fantastic World Cup in March where the side finished fourth in Delhi, its highest ever World Cup finish on foreign turf.
Team England: Richard Alexander, Nick Brothers, Andy Bull, Nick Catlin, Jonty Clarke, Adam Dixon, James Fair, Dan Fox, Ben Hawes, Ashley Jackson, Glenn Kirkham, Iain Mackay, Simon Mantell, Barry Middleton, Rob Moore, Richard Smith, James Tindall, Alastair Wilson.
Source: EHB
