White aiming to gain momentum

OLDHAM’S England hockey star Nicola White can’t wait for the five-team Investec London Cup tournament to start on July 9.

That’s because the 26-year-old Leicester forward and her team-mates will get the chance to quickly wipe away the memory of their miserable recent Rabobank World Cup tournament in Holland.

Jason Lee’s team finished 11th out of 12 competing nations.

White said: “We went in there with high hopes, so of course it was a massive disappointment.

“We had enjoyed good preparation, everyone felt good and we were all excited heading to Holland, but we didn’t get off to the best start and it was hard coming back from that.

“That won’t happen again, I know it won’t, but I guess it was a great experience for the squad to have to have gone through.”

The Investec London Cup will see England up against Wales, Scotland, Ireland and South Africa, and will be played at England Hockey’s new Olympic legacy venue at the Queen Elizabeth Park in the capital.

White added: “It’s going to be fantastic and it’s right next to the Olympic venue, so it will have that feel about it.

White is still waiting to hear whether she has been selected for the England Commonwealth Games team. An official announcement is due towards the end of next week.