Great Britain and England Hockey have today announced a three-man captaincy group of George Pinner, Phil Roper and Ian Sloan will take over the armband from all-time leading cap holder Barry Middleton.
The former captain, a four-time Olympian who skippered Team GB at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games, has made a personal decision to step down from his leadership role after almost a decade at the helm, with Pinner, Roper and Sloan voted in by their teammates.
Goalkeeper Pinner and midfielder Sloan both represented Team GB at last summer’s Olympic Games in Brazil – with the latter the youngest member of the squad – while Roper, along with Pinner, won bronzewith England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The structure was first put in place by head coach Bobby Crutchley at the Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy earlier this month, when Great Britain became the first British side to win the trophy in 23 years.
In an effort to increase player accountability, responsibility and shared ownership, Crutchley has decided to evolve the performance environment.
The new-look captaincy group’s first test will be at next month’s Men’s Hockey World League Semi Final in London, and with World Cup qualification up for grabs Crutchley is confident the changes will prove fruitful.
“We have named a captaincy group that represents the shared responsibility, accountability and ownership of the full squad,” said Crutchley.
“These three players were voted in as a result of their different qualities and have the full backing of the squad, the staff and myself.
“Irrespective of the captaincy group, we share common goals and accountability, and everyone will play their part.
“I would like to wish George, Phil and Ian the very best of luck and of course I would also like to thank Barry Middleton for his leadership and captaincy over the years.
“We are very fortunate to have him with us as one of the best players in the world, and I know his leadership qualities will be as prevalent as ever.”
Sportsbeat 2017