Hockey: Couzins' chance to reach international milestone

Auckland defender Dean Couzins is set to join the exclusive band of New Zealand hockey players who have played 200 internationals when he goes to next year's World Cup in New Delhi.

Couzins, who has played 196 games for his country, has been named by coach Shane McLeod in a 21-player squad from which the 18 players for the February-March World Cup will be named. He will join other internationals captain Phil Burrows (233), Ryan Archibald (232) and Blair Hopping (209) in passing that milestone.

At the same tournament, Central's Shea McAleese should reachthe 100-cap milestone. He willhead to India with 96 caps.

North Harbour, the National Hockey League champions, are well represented in the enlarged squad.

Experienced Ben Collier (101 caps), centre-half Steve Edwards (86) and striker Nick Wilson (48) are named with Hopping and are joined by the relatively inexperienced Priyesh Bhana (16), and David Green (9), who has been promoted from the development squad.

Young Midlands striker Hugo Inglis, who made an immediate impact on being selected as an 18-year-old and played in the successful Champions Challenge team, has been named in the World Cup squad. He and Wilson are the two teenagers in the squad.

McLeod has included the 18 players who succeeded at the Champions Challenge and added Bhana, Green and Wellington's Joel Baker.

The unavailability of Hayden and Brad Shaw and James Nation' retirement have opened the door for aspiring midfielders/defenders.

McLeod will name his travelling 18 on January 31 after a training camp in Auckland next month.

NZ SQUAD

New Zealand World Cup provisional squad (three to drop out):

Ryan Archibald (Auckland), Priyesh Bhana (North Harbour), Joel Baker (Wellington), Joseph Bartholomew (North Harbour), Phillip Burrows (Wellington), Simon Child (Auckland), Ben Collier (North Harbour), Dean Couzins (Auckland), Steve Edwards (North Harbour), Stephen Graham (Midlands), David Green (North Harbour), Nick Haig (Canterbury), Andy Hayward (Midlands), Blair Hilton (Wellington), Blair Hopping (North Harbour), Hugo Inglis (Midlands), Shea McAleese (Central), Arun Panchia (Auckland), Richard Petherick (Midlands), Kyle Pontifex (Wellington), Nick Wilson (North Harbour).