Australia to play first match of 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup against Malaysia – Hockey Preview
The 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will open its second day at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia on May 6. World Number 1, Australia, will be taking on the hosts Malaysia, in what may be one of the most anticipated matches of the week.
May 5, the opening day of the tournament, saw the conclusion of three matches with Pakistan, Korea and Great Britain coming out as winners. Australia did not play on the inaugural day and will be hoping to make their presence felt today. The Aussies will
play their first match against the lowest ranked team in the tournament, the 15th seeded Malaysians.
This mis-match is a good example of the how the Azlan Shah platform allows lower ranked teams gain experience and confidence on the hockey field. The second day of the seven-nation will also feature two more matches, including India vs Great Britain and
Pakistan vs Korea.
Australia
The Kookaburras had a memorable last year when they managed to fill their trophy showcase with the 2010 World Cup, Champions Trophy and Commonwealth Games Title. The Azlan Shah of 2010 was the only title that the Australian men could not achieve, ending
up third after defeating the Malaysian team by 5-3 in a play-off match.
The Australian squad, this year, is lacking its four-time world player-of-the-year, Jamie Dwyer, who has recently undergone knee surgery due to a serious injury to his left knee. They also have many senior players that are not fit to play by the time Azlan
Shah approached their doorstep. These players include Graeme Begbie, Des Abbott, Kieran Govers and Joel Carroll, who are injured. Whereas senior players Rob Hammond, Eddie Ockenden, Mark Knowles and Luke Doerner are busy in Holland club matches.
Considering the fact that the team is lacking many key players, the head coach Ric Charlesworth commented, "My concern is we haven't had a match for six months so maybe we'll be a bit rusty early on."
Malaysia
The Malaysian team also had last-minute changes in the squad, one day prior to the opening of the Azlan Shah Invitational. Surprisingly, the key defender, Azreen Rizal Nasir, got dropped from the list on being injured in a practice match against New Zealand
on May 1. Moreover the penalty corner expert, Mohamed Amin Rahim, will not be featuring in the tournament, which is a great loss for Malaysia.
On the other hand, some rising stars from the Project 2013 were added into the squad namely Izzat Mohd Rahim and Azammi Adabi,
which brings hope to fans that the team will be able to compete against the big boys.
Their previous loss against the British squad by 1-3, was a tough fight for the team. However, today’s match is expected to be even harder against the top team in the world.
Players to watch
From the Australian side, Andrew Charter, will be the shine-out star among all the other Kookaburras to watch. While from the Malaysian team, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, will have all the attention from the home audience for demonstrating his skills, similar
to what he had shown in the last day’s match.
Head-to-head Statistics
Both teams had a memorable last encounter when Australia snatched the bronze-medal win from the host team in the play-off held in last year’s Azlan Cup edition. Most expectedly the World Number 1 has a win-win situation on playing against the 15th
ranked Malaysian team.
Prediction
Australia is expected to be in full form, all set to beat the Malaysian team by 5-2.
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