Team England relishing Nations Cup Challenge
England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy and Sarah-Jane Perry are relishing the opportunity to battle for the inaugural Nations Cup title in Tauranga.
Former world no.1 ElShorbagy will make his England debut alongside Commonwealth Games silver medallist Perry, who has 81 caps to her name.
The two-person England team are one of the leading title contenders in the innovative tournament which will see eight nations line up in a new ‘every point counts’ format.
Former world champion and three-time British Open winner ElShorbagy said:
I’m very excited to be representing England for the first time at the Nations Cup beside Sarah-Jane.
I can’t wait to pull on the England shirt and get my first cap. I’ll give everything at the event to get a win for us.
The scoring format is unique and exciting, and it will be great to be one of the first to trial it alongside some of the best in the world.
Current world no.8 Perry added:
“I’m really looking forward to representing England in the Nations Cup alongside Mohamed. The scoring format is going to be a whole new experience for us and the fans and I can’t wait for the challenge.”
England National Coach David Campion said:
“We’re delighted Mohamed will be making his debut – he’s genuinely thrilled to be pulling on the shirt for the first time and I believe everyone who is English is equally as thrilled!
Sarah-Jane and Mohamed are a formidable pairing and amongst the favourites to win. It’s a great format and one that squash enthusiasts around the world can really look forward to.
England will contest the title alongside New Zealand, Europe, Scotland, USA, Australia and Canada, and will come up against some of the world’s finest players including world no.2 Paul Coll and five-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist Joelle King.
The Carrus Nations Cup is the first iteration of the new SquashFORWARD series which has been created to trial changes to the traditional competition and scoring formats used at official tournaments, including those on the PSA Tour. Each game will be first to seven points and each player can opt for a ‘Power Play’ twice per match where he or she can win two points.
