CHAMPION HAINES NAMED IN STRONG ENGLAND BOYS SQUAD
 Matt
Haines (pictured left - photo courtesy of Tom Ward), the newly
crowned English Boy champion, and the rest of the six-strong
side that came so close to winning the European Boys Team
title earlier this month, will form the backbone of the England
team for the Boys Home Internationals at Machnynys Peninsula
in Wales on 7th - 9th August.
Haines, from Kent, endured the disappointment with Tommy
Fleetwood, Jack Hiluta, Andrew Johnston, Eddie Pepperell and
Oscar Sharpe of finishing runners-up in the European Boys
Team Championships in Denmark, losing to the hosts in the
final.
However, Haines, 17, won the under 18 title for the Carris
Trophy in awful conditions at Saunton last week following
an equally impressive performance in winning the McEvoy Trophy
in April.
The other five players selected are, Adam Best, Gary King,
Matthew Nixon, Garrick Porteous and Darren Renwick, are all
new caps.
Best, 18, is the Yorkshire boys champion and a member of
the England under 18 squad, while King, 17, from Surrey is
a former under 16 cap who was the individual winner in the
recent South East Boys Qualifying and runner-up in the Sir
Henry Cooper Junior Masters.
Nixon, 18, is the reigning British Boys champion following
his victory at Royal Aberdeen last August. A member of the
England under 18 squad, he finishing runner-up in both the
Lancashire Championship and the Lancashire Boys Championship
last year and was tied fourth in the Sir Henry Cooper Junior
Masters last month.
Porteous, 17, from Northumberland, is another former under
16 cap who reached the third round of last year’s British
Boys. An England under 18 squad member, he played in the quadrangular
match in South Africa earlier this year.
Renwick, 17, from Sussex, is another to step up from under
16 level. A former winner of the Douglas Johns Trophy, he
also played in the quadrangular match against Canada, Holland
and South Africa and finished tied sixth in both the McEvoy
Trophy and the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters.
Fleetwood, 16, has been an under 16 international for the
past two years and is now a member of the under 18 squad.
After winning the Southport and Ainsdale Bowl, he finished
runner-up in the Lancashire Championship and made his debut
at boys level in Denmark.
Hiluta, 18, who will captain the side, made his debut in
last year’s Boys Home internationals, with five wins
from six matches. The Essex lad reached the last 16 of the
Spanish Amateur earlier this year and finished eighth in the
Sir Henry Cooper.
Johnston, 18, from Middlesex, also played in last year’s
Boys Home Internationals then reached the semi-finals of the
British Boys and finished runner-up in the South East Boys
Championship. This year he has finished joint runner-up in
the McEvoy Trophy and tied fifth in the Skandia Junior Championship
in Sweden. He was also a member of the winning Nations Cup
team with Haines and Nixon in last week’s Carris Trophy.
Pepperell, 16, from BB&O, won the Reid Trophy in 2005
and was runner-up to Sharpe in last year’s McGregor
Trophy. A former under 16 cap, this year he lost a playoff
for the Hampshire Hog, finished tied fourth in the McEvoy
and tied second in the European Young Masters in France last
week.
Sharpe, 14, made his debut at under 16 level in last year’s
match with Spain at Heswall. This capped a triumphant 2006
for the Gloucestershire lad, who won the under 14, 15 and
16 national titles as well as the Douglas Johns Trophy and
the North of England Boys Championship. He also won the Gloucestershire
under 15, 16 and 18 titles. This year, Sharpe has enjoyed
top-ten finishes in the Selborne and Hampshire Salvers and
the McEvoy Trophy and he finished fourth behind Pepperell
in last week’s European Young Masters.
England lost their grip on the Boys Home Internationals last
year in Scotland after eight successive victories. But after
coming so close in Denmark they are determined to recapture
the title.
The full England team is:
Adam Best (Cleveland)
Tommy Fleetwood (Formby Hall)
Matt Haines (Rochester & Cobham)
Jack Hiluta (Chelmsford)
Andrew Johnston (North Middlesex)
Gary King (Tyrrells Wood)
Matthew Nixon (Ashton-under-Lyne)
Eddie Pepperell (Drayton Park)
Garrick Porteous (Bamburgh Castle)
Darren Renwick (Worthing)
Oscar Sharpe (Minchinhampton)
Reserves: Henry Smart (Walton Heath), Richard Prophet (Shifnal).
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