Midfield duo back for trip to Malaysia
The return of midfield duo Hayden Phillips and George Muir is the feature of New Zealand men’s hockey team named to compete at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia later this month.
While a sizeable number of experienced faces remain absent through injury or club commitments in Europe, the inclusion of Phillips and Muir after their recovery from longterm injuries is a boost for new head coach Darren Smith.
Central teenager Phillips, the bolter in the squad which played at the Rio Olympics last year, has been battling a foot injury and has not played at international level since the Olympics, while North Harbour midfielder Muir last played in the 2016 National Hockey League before undergoing shoulder surgery.
Muir was understandably pleased to be back for the Azlan Shah Cup, which runs from April 27 to May 6 and sees New Zealand go up against hosts Malaysia, Australia, Great Britain, India and Japan.
‘‘It feels great to be back. After watching a lot of hockey over the last six months I have built a lot of passion and hunger to get back on the field,’’ the 22-year-old said.
‘‘I’m excited to be back in black playing for New Zealand again, it’s been a long time between test matches so I can’t wait to get to Malaysia and into tournament mode.’’
As he did during a 2-1 series loss to Pakistan in Wellington and Wairarapa last month, Auckland defender/midfielder Arun Panchia will captain the New Zealand side.
Regular skipper Simon Child, Nick Haig and Brad Read were injured, while James Coughlan is unavailable with work commitments and several others were yet to return the Belgium and Dutch leagues, which are approaching their playoff stages.
‘‘We would have liked to take away a more experienced group, but unfortunately there are a lot of players either unavailable or injured,’’ Smith said.
‘‘Many of these guys saw playing time during the Pakistan series and I thought they performed well, although this will be another big step up for them.’’
The New Zealand team leaves on April 21, ahead of their opening match on April 29.