In-form Harris poised to make Black Sticks debut
North Harbour’s Daniel Harris is the sole new cap in Black Sticks men’s hockey team to play in Sydney at the Oceania Cup in Sydney next month.
Coach Darren Smith has gone for a young side with several players missing due European club commitments for the weeklong tournament against hosts Australia and also Papua New Guinea.
Arun Panchia, who has been named captain, is the most experienced in the group, having played 227 internationals.
Harris will make his debut after impressing during the recent National Hockey League where he scored five goals and helped North Harbour lift the Challenge Shield for the first time since 2009.
He will combine with Canterbury striker Sam Lane, who is in hot form, having finished top goal scorer at the NHL with 13 goals from six games.
Goalkeeper Devon Manchester and midfielder Marcus Child are the only others to have played over 100 games. Rio Olympian James Coughlan returns after taking a break earlier in the year and missing the Hockey World League Semi Final in Johannesburg.
‘‘We have a number of players who are unavailable for selection due to European club commitments and injury, so this will be a test for this group to step up and make their mark,’’ Smith said.
Held every two years, the Oceania Cup is the continental championship for the Oceania region with the tournament winner qualifying for the 2018 Hockey World Cup.
Both the Black Sticks men and women have already qualified for the World Cup, with the women’s event in London (July, 2018) and the men’s in India (November, 2018).