The women's World Cup qualifiers start in Rome today, but England will be facing their opening matches without captain Kate Walsh. Walsh was injured yesterday during a penalty corner practice, when she was struck in the throat by a deflected ball - ironically, this on a day when England Hockey banned the wearing of goalkeeper's helmets by defenders following advice from the FIH. Walsh is expected to recover sufficiently to play in the later matches in the competition, but meanwhile Leicester's Helen Richardson will take over the captaincy.
England's opening match is against the Ukraine. Other teams in England's pool are China, France, Japan, and Scotland. The rankings would suggest that England will finish third in the pool, but the recent performance of England's men in Changzhou has shown that the form book can be overturned. The teams are playing for places in the World Cup, due to be held in Madrid starting in September. A link to both men's and women's World Cup sites can be found on our main site.
