Batch announces Kookaburras squad for India Series in Adelaide

A 23-player Kookaburras squad will assemble in Adelaide for the highly anticipated 5-match test series against India in what will be the first time Australia’s national men’s hockey team has played in South Australia since 2009.

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With Match 1 of the series this Saturday (26 November), Kookaburras Head Coach Colin Batch selected the squad following the conclusion of the Sultana Bran Hockey One League Finals held in Bendigo last weekend.

The squad will again be led by co-captains Aran Zalewski and Eddie Ockenden, who is set to play his 400th international in Match 2 on Sunday.

James Collins, Tom Craig, Dylan Martin, Ben Rennie, Lachlan Sharp, Jack Welch and Ky Willott have been added to the playing contingent that won the Kookaburras’ seventh straight Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham.

Goalkeeper Andrew Charter will be unavailable for the first two match days as he is getting married in Perth on Thursday.

The full Kookaburras squad has not been together since the Commonwealth Games.

Batch admits it is a ‘tricky situation’ as the world number one ranked team prepares for the upcoming FIH Men’s World Cup to be held in India in January 2023.

“This is a bit different to our normal preparation in that we’re usually together for a long time training in Perth, but we haven’t all been together since the Commonwealth Games,” said Batch.

“That creates some urgency in getting it right in the short term and reconnecting with each other.”

“We have a lot of confidence we can do that and we start now with this series against India. It’s very much preparation for the World Cup so we won’t be changing our team too much. We’ve got a core group of players who are playing well and we believe they can play well.”

“We still want to give some opportunities.

These five matches will be the Kookaburras’ only internationals before the World Cup. This is in contrast to a host of other countries who have been playing in the current FIH Pro League season.

The Kookaburras do not open their Pro League campaign until after the World Cup in late February.

“Our first Pro League matches are next year so these matches with India are our preparation for the World Cup,” said Batch.

“We’ll be ready when the World Cup comes around but we’ve got to get a lot out of the matches against India, take our learnings from them and put them into the final weeks of training before we depart for the World Cup.”

“We’re thankful to (India Head Coach) Graham Reid and Hockey India for coming here to play. They’re a very good side. We’re not expecting to get to the level we reached at the Commonwealth Games and I expect this to be a really closely fought series.”

“These matches also form part of selection for the World Cup team so players are fighting for selection which adds another element to it. It is about the group performing well at the World Cup and these five matches are part of that.”

Competing nations at the World Cup can name squads of 18 players.

Kookaburras squad for 5-match Test Series v India

Kookaburras v India Series
MATE Stadium, Adelaide
Match 1 - Saturday 26 November (4.00pm local time, 4.30pm AEDT)
Match 2 - Sunday 27 November (4.00pm local time, 4.30pm AEDT)
Match 3 - Wednesday 30 November (6.30pm local time, 7.00pm AEDT)
Match 4 - Saturday 3 December (4.00pm local time, 4.30pm AEDT)
Match 5 - Sunday 4 December (4.00pm local time, 4.30pm AEDT)

Ticketing details: Available now through Ticketek
Broadcast: LIVE on FOX Sports, Kayo and livestreamed on LIVEHockey. The matches will also be streamed globally on Watch.Hockey (geo blocked in Australia and India). In India the matches will be shown on Star Sports First, Star Sports Select 1.