England play hockey with world's big boys

England start the Champions Trophy - an annual tournament for the world's top six teams - in Melbourne, Australia this weekend with more expectation than there has been in the last 20 years.

There was surprise even from within the team at their European Championship performance but the building blocks have been in place since the appointment of former player Jason Lee as coach five years ago.

In the past, players have tended to retire after each Olympic Games but - perhaps helped by a 25% increase in central funding to £14.13m for the sport over the four years between Beijing and London - most of the squad have been together for much of Lee's time in charge.

Eight of the 18-strong squad who arrived in Australia on 19 November have more than 50 caps for England and forward Jonty Clarke - who plays for Reading and works part-time as an accountant - is one of four players with over 100.

Clarke, 28, describes the EuroHockey tournament as an "incredible experience", as England upset host the Netherlands in the semi-final then - with the pressure resting firmly on the shoulders of their fancied rivals - shocked Germany.

But, sheltering under a brolly on the sidelines at Reading, where his club-mates were training, he insisted little had changed for the team.

"The [victory at the] Europeans changes how other people view us rather than how we view ourselves," he said.

England stars Rob Moore, Simon Mantell, Richard Mantell, Ashley Jackson and captain Barry Middleton

Rather than putting more pressure on the team, defender Richard Mantell - who scored two goals in that final - believes it will boost confidence and experience.

"We've got some great experience from the Europeans and we need to make sure we continue that success and are playing in big games between now and the Olympics," he said.

"It's key for us to make sure we're playing in the semi-finals and finals of big tournaments."

If you're confused by the changing references to England and Great Britain, you're probably not alone. At the start of this week, Wikipedia editors thought it was GB who were in action in Melbourne but it is England who get another shot at Germany on Saturday, with a testing schedule leading up to the final the following Sunday.

Great Britain rarely play outside the Olympics. The squad in Beijing included just two Scots with another as a reserve, and their place at the 2008 Games was gained because of England's results.

There will be a chance to watch the GB men in action in Nottingham next July, in a four-team friendly tournament to run alongside the women's Champions Trophy.

To build greater awareness, England launched a "new identity", featuring the three lions logo, in the run-up to this tournament. Meanwhile, Wales and Scotland play in the tier of international teams below England and both have already missed out on qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

Clarke is already looking forward to playing in front of 25,000 fans in the event, at Delhi's revamped Dhyan Chand National Stadium in March.

And he regards this Australia trip as another step to building a side capable of challenging there.

"We now go into the Champions Trophy as contenders rather than just being in it to try and stay in it for next time," he said.

"But we're taking a few inexperienced players and it's part of our development towards next year's World Cup, which is far more of a target for us.

"The World Cup, outside of the Olympics, is the biggest hockey tournament out there. It's incredibly important for us to perform well."

Reading goal-keeper Nick Brothers, who spent the European Champs on the bench behind James Fair, is just one of those who will be hoping to increase their experience against the world's best.

Even if they're confident of bettering Germany again, an Ashes contest looms against Australia - who they have not beaten since 1985, when matches were still played on grass rather than the sort of lightning-fast Astroturf in use at Reading and across the world now.

(And there's also a moust-Ashes contest going: both teams are taking part in the Movember campaign, as you may be able to tell from Clarke's upper lip in our video.)

The England team will be back in Delhi in October for the Commonwealth Games, which performance director David Faulkner recently described as being "vital" for their Olympic preparation because of its multi-sport environment.

Clarke admits the team are already thinking about 2012, but the major events on their schedule over the next three years help them plan in the short-term.

"We would dearly love to come away [from the Olympics] with a medal and ideally a gold one but it's so far away, so many things can change between now and then," he said.

"We know what we're going to do in the next three years - train really hard and play as best we can - and hopefully that will be enough to do something special."

My favourite response from the evening's interviews, though, came from Brothers who said of the Olympics: "If I'm being honest, it's probably the first thing I think about when I step onto the training pitch.

"London 2012 is our goal and you're not going to do that by having a flash-in-the-pan tournament. We've had some success and it's critical that we build on that."

Watch highlights of all of England's Champions Trophy games on the BBC Sport website (UK users only). Check out the England squad and schedule on the England Hockey website