Black Sticks Men’s squad announced for Four Nations tournament in London
The 18-member Black Sticks men’s squad has been announced for the European Tour as well as for Four Nations tournament, which will be played in London, England.
The Black Sticks men’s team will depart for Europe on July 2, and will start their campaign of the European tour against Pakistan on July 6. After that they will be up against the English A side for two matches on July 9 and 10, While the Four Nations tournament
will start on July 12 and will conclude on July 16 in which Korea, England and Belgium will be among the other contenders along with the Kiwis. The Kiwis will finish their campaign by playing two matches against the Dutch team that will be played on July 18
and 19.
Shane McLeod, the coach of the Kiwis, showed a firm belief in his athletes, despite the fact of inexperience, he is still confident for the better performance from his players who are getting stronger day-by-day.
“This is a very significant time in our programme for two reasons. Firstly, it allows us to test where we are currently sitting against top ranked nations, and secondly, it highlights what areas of our game need attention leading up to London,” Shane McLeod,
the coach of Black Sticks men’s team, stated about the challenges ahead.
The captain of the Kiwis also has reasonable expectations from his side on the European tour and in the Four Nations tournament where they will be up against some better teams as compared to them
“We don’t want to travel over there and put in a mediocre performance, the aim is to make the final in the Four Nations. To do that we have to turn our scoring opportunities into goals and make sure we are not conceding too many penalty corners,” Phil Burrows,
the skipper of the Black Sticks men stated his views regarding their expectations about the European tour.
The Black Sticks men’s team seems to be a blend of youth ad experience as there is a number of very seasoned players who have played more than 100 matches and also there are some players who just started their international career and have played not more
than thirty matches. However, overall the team has an average age of 24.8 years and 106 international appearances under their belt.
The Black Sticks men’s squad for the European tour and Four Nations tournament include Phillip Burrows (Captain), Dean Couzins (V Captain), Shea McAleese (V Captain), Nick Haig, Andy Hayward, Simon Child, Blair Hopping, Blair Hilton, Bradley Shaw, Blair
Tarrant, Arun Panchia, Matt L’Huillier, Stephen Jenness, Hugo Inglis, Steve Edwards, Nick Wilson, Stephen Graham (goal-keeper) and Kyle Pontifex (goalkeeper).
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