Kookaburras look to youth at Azlan Shah

24 March 2010: Fresh off their recent 2010 World Cup victory the Kookaburras have already begun preparations for the 2010 Champions Trophy, today naming an 18 player squad for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
To be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from 6-16 May the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will see the Kookaburras take on Korea, Pakistan, China, India, Malaysia and Egypt.

The Kookaburras, who are the number one ranked team in the world following their thrilling 2-1 victory over Germany in the final of the 2010 World Cup, will debut two new players during this tournament. Tasmanian striker Tim Deavin has been picked to play his first international game, as has West Australian Trent Mitton.

A number of other young players including Matt Gohdes, Jason Wilson, Jonathon Charlesworth, Glenn Simpson and Ian Burcher have also been included in the squad, with Kookaburras coach Ric Charlesworth looking forward to adding even more depth to his already talented squad.

”We have purposefully chosen a young squad for this tournament. It will go a long way in exposing our squad to a number of quality teams, giving us even more experience and help add to the depth of our squad,” said Charlesworth.

The younger players will be well balanced by veterans such as Grant Schubert and Kiel Brown who have also been selected for this series.

2010 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup squad:
George Bazeley (VIC), Ross Meadows (WA), Chris Ciriello (VIC), Brent Dancer (WA), Joel Carroll (NT), Matthew Swann (QLD), Kiel Brown (WA), Ian Burcher (WA), Glenn Simpson (VIC), Mark Paterson (NSW), Jonathon Charlesworth (WA), Tim Deavin (TAS), Kieran Govers (NSW), Grant Schubert (SA), Jason Wilson (QLD), Russell Ford (VIC), Trent Mitton (WA), Matt Gohdes (QLD)

Courtesy: Hockey Australia