Hockey: McAleese to captain NZ

Shea McAleese. Photo / Getty Images

Midfielder Shea McAleese will lead the New Zealand men's hockey team in tests against Belgium and South Korea this month.

Injury has sidelined regular captain Phil Burrows handing McAleese, 26, the chance to fulfil a long-held ambition.

"It's a real privilege to be named captain and I'm really looking forward to the series getting underway. It has always been a goal of mine to captain a New Zealand side and I'm humbled and honoured to have been given this opportunity," said McAleese

The Black Sticks face Belgium in three tests, the first in Whangarei on February 8, and play the sixth-ranked South Korea five times.

Coach Shane McLeod said McAleese, capped 125 times by his country, had natural leadership qualities.

"Shea is a very talented and determined player who shows experience beyond his years. The respect that he has from the team, will pay dividends both on and off the turf during the series," McLeod said.

McAleese, who captained a young Black Sticks development team at the Four Nations in Nottingham last year, eyed the matches against South Korea as their biggest challenge.

"Our games against Korea will be testing - they are ranked one spot higher than us, so to beat them we will have to perform exceptionally well," he said.

McAleese will be no stranger to some of the Belgium players after playing European league hockey for the Braxgata Club in Belgium and is due to return to the club after the test series concludes.

Squad: Shea McAleese (captain), David Green, Joseph Bartholomew, Nick Haig, Andy Hayward, Simon Child, Blair Hopping, Blair Hilton, Marcus Child, Joel Baker, Stephen Graham, Hamish McGregor, Hayden Shaw, Devon Manchester, Blair Tarrant, Arun Panchia, Stephen Jenness, Richard Petherick, Hugo Inglis, Ben Collier, Steve Edwards, Nick Wilson.

Fixtures: Feb 8 v Belgium, Whangarei; Feb 10 v Belgium, Whangarei; Feb 12 v South Korea, Auckland; Feb 13 v Belgium, Auckland; Feb 16 v South Korea, Hamilton; Feb 17 v South Korea, Hamilton; Feb 19 v South Korea, Tauranga; Feb 20 v South Korea, Tauranga.

- NZPA