READING Hockey Club are expected to have 10 players competing in next month’s Commonwealth Games in Australia, writes Dave Wright.

Half are in the Wales squad which was confirmed last Thursday, while three will be pulling on a Scotland shirt.

England and Ireland have yet to officially announce their list of players, but both are likely to include one Blues player.

Representing Wales will be James Carson, Dale Hutchinson, Dan Kyriakides, Ben Francis and Owain Dolan Gray.

Dan will be joined by brother James, who plays for Southgate, while former Sonning Lane team-mate Jonny Gooch, now with Hampstead & Westminster, is also among the 18 selected.

Reading’s Scotland trio are goalkeeper Tommy Alexander, Lee Morton and Duncan Riddell.

Teammates Liam Sanford and Stuart Loughrey, who are currently playing for England and Ireland respectively in the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia, are also expected to be flying out to the Gold Coast for the Games commencing on April 4.

The pair faced each other in Malaysia on Tuesday with Sanford producing a brilliant run to set up England’s final goal for Barry Middleton in a 4-1 win, their first of the tournament following a 4-1 defeat by Australia and a 1-1 draw with India.

Even if he loses 10 players, Blues head coach Jason Lee will still have 20 registered players to pick his team from, such is the club’s strength in depth.

England will be playing in the same group as Wales in the Commonwealth Games.

No Reading women will be involved in the tournament, but two of last season’s squad will be, with goalkeeper Amy Gibson playing for Scotland and Julie Whiting for Wales, who will be captained by former Reading defender Leah Wilkinson.

All Reading matches last weekend were called off due to the snow.

This coming Saturday, the men’s 1st XI, who are fourth in the table, play a re-arranged home game with league leaders Surbiton (2.30pm), followed by a trip to seventh-placed East Grinstead on Sunday (2pm), while the women host Olton & West Warwicks in Conference West on Saturday at 4.30pm.