It's a huge honour to be England captain for the Worlds 2020, and thank you to everyone who's been in touch already. I really can't wait for this.
Right then. Team selection. I always think it's important for the captain to be transparent about how they intend to pick the team, so I wanted to confirm the plan now, especially as I'm doing things a bit differently to most.
My team of four will be picked as follows:
1. One “captain's pick” that I approach myself. I don't know who this will be yet, but I didn't want to say that I'll select the whole team from the applications I get, only to end up just picking my mates or a bunch of ringers. So I'm saying up front that I'll be doing that for one of the spots.
2&3. That means two places are up for grabs to people who want to put themselves forward… but with one restriction. I've decided that I will only be picking players who haven't had the opportunity to play for England before. The England team is massively over-subscribed for every event (we're not Wales 😛), and I've always thought it's a shame for people who would love the chance to represent their country to miss out to those who already have.
I realise this will disappoint some people who would have liked another shot at it having played before, including the three captains who have kindly picked me in the past. So apologies to Brian, Carl and Steve, and everyone else that this idea rules out, but I've decided to spread the love… and it's not like there aren't loads of amazing players still to choose from.
4. Me. I did briefly consider being a non-playing captain, but the Worlds are just too much fun not to play (and I'm aware of the hypocrisy of playing myself despite my 'no returning players' line, having played for England three times already, so don't bother pointing that out 😉).
So, if you fancy it, you haven't played any of the international events before, and you can make a decent case for selection, then please get in touch via FB DM, WhatsApp or APAT forum DM by the END OF FEBRUARY. You'll need to tell me why you're the one, which might include:
- some evidence that you know what you're doing.
- being a PLO8 wizard would help, cos I'm certainly not.
- at least some level of involvement with APAT (you don't have to have played since season 1, but no total outsiders).
Once all the applications are in I'll turn around a decision quickly, so that everyone can sort out time off, logistics etc. well in advance.
Have at it.
🏴 ♠️♥️♣️♦️🏆🥇🥇🥇🥇
