Great Britain goalkeeper Beth Storry believes their recent performances in the Champions Trophy can help the squad achieve their dreams of winning Olympic gold.

The girls were narrowly beaten in the final by hosts Argentina but Storry explained the many positives that the team have taken from the tournament.

“We continued to play with no fear and you could feel our belief, matching and beating the top teams,” said Storry.

“Coming so close shows how realistic winning gold at the Olympic Games is as long as we perform.”

Storry recalled the atmosphere of the final in front of a partisan and passionate crowd in Rosario.

“During the national anthems, you couldn’t help but smile. It was mad, they are so enthusiastic with their singing and shouting,” she added.

“It was really tough to communicate with the noise and there was constant drumming!”

The Reading goalkeeper admitted her delight at returning to the national stage and praised the defensive unit which featured heavily in their silver success.

“I have mixed feelings I suppose, I was pleased with how I played and it was great to be back playing at international level again in a major tournament.

“I think we conceded just once in 28 short corners, the girls are brilliant at reading it and we have such a strong collective group.”

When questioned about the squad’s Olympic ambitions Storry made no bones about their goal.

“Four years ago I would have said the same thing: we want to win, it has been all our dreams since we were little.

“Standing on top of the podium with the national anthem playing would be a dream come true”.

The build-up to the Games sees the women take part in test events at the Olympic park as well hosting the Investec London Cup, and Storry believes this will provide a crucial opportunity for the squad to build confidence.

“They are really important, it is good to play competitively before big tournaments and being so close to the Olympics we can get a feel for it and get a bit of form.

“Nothing will be radically changed but we will get up to match speed and settle down as a team and a squad.”

“We have such a great squad and it is really going places.”

Investec, the specialist bank and asset manager, support women’s hockey from grass roots level through to Great Britain and tickets are now on sale for the Investec London Cup

England crawled to victory over the Netherlands to snatch an unconvincing six-wicket win in their opening World Cup match in Nagpur.

Andrew Strauss led the 293-run chase with 88 with assistance from Jonathan Trott (62) and Kevin Pietersen (39)

All-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate earlier struck a magnificent hundred to help the Dutch post a challenging 292-6.

England were disappointing from the off with dropped catches and poor bowling marring their Group B opener.

Alexei Kervezee and Wesley Barresi began well for the Dutch before Tim Bresnan got the breakthrough, removing Kervezee with the score at 36.

Barresi fell soon after when Graeme Swann struck in his first over on his return to the side with Matt Prior taking the stumping.

However, Tom Cooper and Ten Doeschate came together and took the total beyond 100 with their impressive partnership of 78.

Paul Collingwood forced a poor shot from Cooper, chipping to James Anderson at midwicket. The Netherlands then looked to be in trouble when Swann had Bas Zuiderent caught at slip.

But South Africa-born Ten Doeschate proved his quality and continued his impressive stroke play with Tom De Grooth as he powered towards three figures.

Stuart Broad returned after his opening spell to eventually remove De Grooth for 28 but the Dutch were already well on their way to posting a competitive score.

There was to be further resistance from Peter Borren, and Ten Doeschate shepherded him to great effect to give himself the majority of the strike and take their side’s total forwards. Borren had faced just 13 balls when the pair’s partnership passed 60.

Ten Doeschate then passed his hundred in the 42nd over before his 119 became the highest total posted by an associate nation player against a Test-playing side.

He was eventually caught in the deep off of Broad after Borren had smashed his way to an unbeaten 35, taking a particular liking to an off-colour James Anderson.

The Dutch total of 292-6 was the highest by an associate nation at a World Cup.

England’s performance thus far had been marred by an appalling fielding display to leave Holland with a real chance of causing a shock upset.

But Strauss and Pietersen answered their critics in the emphatic fashion as they dominated the Dutch attack from the off.

Pietersen bullied with his footwork and power, relishing his new role at the top of the order as the pair put on a century partnership for the first wicket inside 18 overs.

Pietersen went when he chipped to cover off left arm spinner Pieter Seelaar for 39.

Trott joined Strauss and neither showed any reaction to Pietersen’s departure as they constructed a 50 partnership from 60 balls to keep England steadily on course for their total.

England appeared to be in cruise control until Strauss, on the verge of a ton, was well caught in the deep by Cooper off of Mudassar Bukhari for 88.

The skipper’s dismissal brought Ian Bell to the crease and another partnership of 51 from 59 edged England closer.

Trott was then fantastically stumped down the leg side by Barresi for 62 off centurion Ten Doeschate.

Ten Doeschate then struck again, bowling Bell for 33 middle stump off an inside edge to set English nerves jangling.

With Ravi Bopara now at the crease, the 47th over saw Collingwood flick a crucial boundary over fine leg as the pair’s hard running left them needing 23 from the final three overs.

A deft reverse sweep brought them three as England veteran Collingwood showed all his experience to take his side to the penultimate over requiring 13 from 12.

Bopara then struck a flat six over the long off fielder to take England to within touching distance of the target before swatting another four over midwicket.

He then repeated the shot off a full toss to seal an unconvincing win for England who next face India on Sunday.

Hamish Bennett took 4-16 as New Zealand thumped Kenya by 10 wickets in their opening World Cup match in Chennai.

Man of the match Bennett removed four of the top five with Tim Southee (3-13) and Jacob Oram (3-2) also doing damage to remove Kenya for just 69.

Only three Kenyan batsmen made it into double figures as the Black Caps produced a master class after being asked to field.

Martin Guptill (39) and Brendan McCullum (26) knocked off the total inside eight overs to complete the rout.

The New Zealand attack were accurate throughout and constantly threatened the Kenyan line up. After Southee trapped Alex Obanda the wickets began to tumble as Bennett was introduced.

Veteran talisman Steve Tikolo was then comprehensively bowled by a Bennett delivery to leave Kenya reeling.

Southee’s pace then blew away the tail as did Oram’s accuracy as the minnows capitulated.

Guptill set off the fireworks immediately in the New Zealand reply before McCullum finished the job with three boundaries in an over to complete the crushing win.

New Zealand Daniel Vettori saluted his fast bowlers after the emphatic victory. He said: “It was good to start like this. The victory will stand us in good stead for the match against Australia on Friday.

“The wicket had a bit of variable bounce, which our seamers exploited. It was a great performance from the bowlers.”

Meanwhile, Kenya captain Jimmy Kamande admitted nerves affected his side’s performance. “Most of our batsmen played across the line, we didn’t play straight,” he said.

“We were a bit nervous. But the first game is out of the way.”

Virender Sehwag smashed 175 as India overcame Bangladesh by 87 runs in the World Cup curtain-raiser in Mirpur.

Sehwag and Virat Kohli both reached three figures as they posted 370 in their 50 overs after Bangladesh opted to field.

A spirited Bangladesh response saw them compile 283-9 with Tamim Iqbal hitting 70 as Shakib Al Hasan also passed 50.

Aggressive from the outset, India quickly set about posting a large total but lost Sachin Tendulkar relatively early for 28.

Gautam Gambhir’s run-a-ball 39 was the perfect support to Sehwag, whose onslaught at the other end was nothing short of a master class.

The 203-run partnership between Sehwag and Kohli simply took the game away from Bangladesh as Kohli backed his selection with a well-paced innings before bringing up his hundred in the final over.

Shakib returned to prevent Sehwag from breaking Gary Kirsten’s record for the highest score by any player in a world cup match, playing onto his stumps and falling 13 runs short.

In reply Bangladesh took the game to India racing to 50 off just five overs with Imrul Kayes sending the ball to all parts.

Munaf Patel eventually undid Kayes but a strong middle order effort ensured there was no collapse with Junaid Siddique hitting 37 alongside a more patient Iqbal.

Captain Shakib then gave further impetus by hitting 55 from just 50 balls but once the run rate climbed above 10 and the tail was exposed Patel and Khan returned to see out the victory.

Speaking after the game India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his side must improve their fielding despite the convincing win. He said: “There are a few departments where we need to improve, we need to save runs and it’s a big concern for us”.

Meanwhile, Shakib bemoaned his side’s bowling performance. He said: “We bowled too many bad balls and it cost us the game but hopefully we can come back in the next game strongly.”

India 370-4 Bangladesh 283-9 (India win by 87 runs)

England cruised to a 67-run win in their final ICC World Cup warm-up match against Pakistan in Fatullah.

Stuart Broad sparkled again, taking five wickets after Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen struck half centuries as England set Pakistan 274 for victory.

Collingwood also contributed with the ball with his three wickets helping dismiss for Pakistan for just 206.

Pakistan, who opted to rest Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi, elected to field and once again England captain Andrew Strauss fell cheaply, this time to the pace of Shoaib Akhtar.

Jonathan Trott was also dismissed in single figures however Pietersen looked solid alongside Bell.

Pietersen raced to his half century before Bell eventually departed for 39 which brought the out-of-form Collingwood to the crease.

But the Durham man appeared to find his touch, playing his way towards his half century despite the loss of Pietersen for 66.

Ravi Bopara offered good support to Collingwood with a quick-fire 35 before Matt Prior contributed with a late 24 before the tail folded with Wahab Riaz claiming three wickets.

Just as he did against Canada, Broad tore through the Pakistan top order with only Younis Khan offering any resistance.

The middle order all got starts but failed to kick on with Collingwood’s change of pace stalling a fightback.

Broad retuned to remove Khan for 80 and with his exit went Pakistan’s chance of victory, falling 67 runs short.

Collingwood admitted it was a relief to be back among the runs following his first 50 in any form of cricket for three months after the victory.

“On a personal note, it was nice to get some runs,” he afterwards. “It’s been quite a frustrating few months for me, not being able to contribute as much as I would have liked.

“Even though it was a warm-up game, I thought it was important I spent some time in the middle and tried to get that confidence going again – and thankfully, it worked out well.”

England now begin the preparations for their group opener against the Netherlands on Tuesday.

Unconvincing England edged past lowly Canada by just 16 runs in their first ICC World Cup warm-up match in Fatullah.

Stuart Broad took 5-37 on his return from injury to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat as Rizman Cheema’s 93 took Canada to within sight of England’s 243.

Matt Prior rescued the England innings with 78 alongside Jonathan Trott, who passed 50, as England’s other batsman failed to fire in what was a stuttering start to their World Cup campaign.

After electing to bat, skipper Andrew Strauss was caught behind for just 1 before surprise opening partner Kevin Pietersen and Trott took the score to 50.

But Pietersen went immediately after and his dismissal sparked a worrying middle order collapse as both Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood fell in single figures.

Prior’s arrival at the crease alongside Trott temporarily steadied the ship. Their partnership reached 54 when Trott was caught, triggering another flurry of wickets as Sussex pair Michael Yardy and Luke Wright fell in quick succession to Henry Osinde.

However, Broad was on hand to offer some much-needed support to Prior and the pair put on what proved to be a vital 51-run stand.

James Tredwell and Ajmal Shahzad provided some momentum in the final overs as both reached double figures before England lost their last wicket in the final over.

Broad and Shahzad then tore through Canada’s top order to leave them reeling at 28-5, but Cheema began his demolition of the English attack with steady help from his fellow lower order.

He peppered the boundary with 10 fours and 5 sixes to fire Canada to 156 before Broad returned to remove him.

But Khurram Chohan, Hiral Patel and Harvir Baidwan calmly took Canada ever closer to the target before Broad struck again to take the final wicket of Chohan for 44 and spare Engand’s blushes.

England face Pakistan on Friday in their final warm-up match before their tournament-opener against the Netherlands on Tuesday.

Billed as ‘the fastest show in town’ the National Indoor Hockey Finals proved to be just that as the showpiece event took over Wembley Arena this weekend.

Favourites East Grinstead stormed to their third consecutive indoor title in the men’s competition in front of a crowd of almost 5,000 in London.

England and East Grinstead midfielder Barry Middleton hailed the creativity of the side as they grabbed the top prize. He said: “We have a strong squad and good bench but most importantly creativity which especially indoors is key”.

The Gladiators faced Beeston in the men’s final with David De Prez’s hat-trick helping them to an 8-5 win over the Nottingham side, who overcame Reading in their semi-final.

East Grinstead took the lead in the first minute through De Prez but Tim Davenport restored parity just 60 seconds later with a powerful drag flick.

It was again De Prez who provided the finish to restore Grinstead’s lead before Beeston hit straight back once again, this time through Adam Dixon in a frantic opening to the match.

England captain Barry Middleton was introduced and he was soon on hand to finish Darren Cheesman’s fine work down the right wing and give Grinstead the lead for the third time.

The West Sussex side kicked on from here and increased their lead as skipper Scott Ashdown found De Prez who showed fantastic composure before slotting past the Pinner.

But Beeston continued their relentless battle as Dixon was eventually freed from a scramble in the area before finishing well. However, Middleton showed his international class to rebuild Grinstead’s two-goal cushion with a neat turn.

Keeper George Pinner kept Beeston in touch after the break with stunning saves from Mats Gramsbusch who was a constant threat with his deft touches. Scot James McBlane then flicked home to put Beeston just a goal behind with 13 minutes to go. It was another Scot who cancelled out McBlane, Niall Stott firing home a thunderous effort.

Pinner again showed his talents to deny Gramsbusch before a clever short corner again kept Beeston in the hunt, with Adam Dixon returning the ball to Wood to sling home.

But East Grinstead had been watching closely and mirrored the move at the opposite end, this time Mark Pearn finishing on the base-line to all but seal the match with only a few minutes remaining.

Team coach Steve Musson opted to substitute keeper Pinner to give them an extra outfield player but the gamble immediately backfired as Stott broke through to claim his second and seal East Grinstead’s title.

The England skipper paid tribute to the 3,000 East Grinstead fans that made the journey to the finals. He said: “A few of the players have been here their whole lives so that support has been fantastic for the side”.

German under-21 starlet Mats Gramsbusch, meanwhile, expressed his delight at the opportunity to play for East Grinstead. He said; “It’s an absolute honour to play with such a talented squad of players – it’s been an amazing day”.

The first semi-final saw East Grinstead book their place in the final with a resounding 8-3 win over Old Loughtonians, De Prez again the hotshot with four goals in the match.

Old Loughtonians captain Alastair Bray was left to ponder the absence of England player Harry Martin from their squad after the defeat. He said: “We missed Harry Martin which was unfortunate but equally they didn’t have Ashley Jackson!”

The second semi-final provided the highest drama as Beeston edged out Reading on penalty strokes. A controversial Reading goal with just seconds to go levelled the match to take the tie to penalties.

Reading subbed keeper Nick Brothers to give them another outfield player but Brothers, who was off the pitch returned the ball to speed up play, and from his intervention Richard Mantell fired into the area for Ian Mackay to deflect in and send Wembley into raptures.

Simon Mantell and James McBlane were successful with their strokes before Richard Mantell and Richard Lane were both denied. Chris Gregg put his home before England international Jonty Clarke struck the bar as Reading crashed out.

Reading coach Ben Barnes bemoaned his side’s rustiness afterwards. He said: “It’s a very quiet dressing room in there; we are absolutely devastated we could get out of second gear. Our preparation was good but we have fluffed our lines a bit today”.

Eyes will now turn to Poznan in Poland for the Indoor Hockey World Cup and this tournament will hold a number of the squad in good stead for the forthcoming event.

Two wickets for Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris in the final session of play put Australia on the verge of victory on day three in Perth.

Mike Hussey’s hundred provided the cornerstone of the Australian innings of 309 all out, setting England 391 to win.

Chris Tremlett took 5-89 as England reduced the potential lead but the visitors were still paying for their poor first-innings total.

Johnson, Harris and Ben Hilfenhaus shared the spoils to leave England on 81-5 at the close and staring at defeat.

Shane Watson was the first man to depart in the morning session, trapped in front by Tremlett and falling five runs short of a hundred – the Australia opener once again failing to convert after passing fifty.

Steve Smith and Hussey shared a decent partnership before Tremlett struck again, forcing Smith to glove a sharp short ball to Matt Prior down the leg side.

Tremlett then accounted for Brad Haddin, his delivery bouncing of a length to take the wicket-keeper’s inside edge before cannoning off his thigh onto the stumps.

Despite the breakthroughs Hussey stood imperious at the other end as he raced towards his hundred.

Johnson drove Paul Collingwood to cover before Harris hauled out to deep mid wicket off Steven Finn as England ran through the tail.

Peter Siddle offered late support to allow Hussey to reach his hundred but fell to give James Anderson his 200th Test wicket. Tremlett dismissed the centurion soon after to complete his maiden Test match five-wicket haul.

With the Australian seamers finding good swing the England reply began cautiously. Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook both hit early boundaries but a change of ends for Harris saw him dismiss Cook lbw for 13.

Johnson showed his first innings display was no one off when he removed Strauss for 15, Ricky Ponting taking the slip catch to leave England on the ropes.

A brief recovery from Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen then steadied the innings. Pietersen called for a change of bat but then played loosely away from his body and edged to Watson off Hilfenhaus.

With ten minutes remaining Johnson moved one across Trott who edged to Ponting for 31. He dropped the initial catch but fortunately parried it into the air for Haddin to collect. The drop hurt Ponting who had to leave the field for treatment.

England employed the night watchman in Anderson but it was Collingwood who faced the last over and edged Harris to Smith to leave Australia in complete control and on the brink of levelling the series.

Mitchell Johnson tore through England’s top order to place Australia in the driving seat on day two of the third Test in Perth.

The left arm seamer took 6-38 on his return to the side to hamper England’s first innings total as they collapsed to post just 187. Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell passed fifty but fell 81 runs behind Australia’s first-innings total.

With the sun beating down from a cloudless sky the conditions looked ideal for England to comfortably surpass Australia’s 268. Alastair Cook and Strauss, carrying on from their overnight stand on 29, began comfortably.

The partnership reached 76 before Cook pushed at Johnson and spliced to Michael Hussey at gully. This sparked a middle order collapse as the recalled Johnson found his rhythm in a devastating spell.

Jonathan Trott was trapped in front after a vicious in swinger for 0 and Kevin Pietersen fell in identical fashion soon after, also for a duck. The late movement proved too much for the pair.

Strauss passed his fifty but then tickled an edge through to Brad Haddin, leaving his side 94-4.

England were left reeling when Johnson struck again to claim his forth wicket, Paul Collingwood lbw to another in swinger which came back from outside off stump.

Bell and Matt Prior came together and settled well to carry England over and beyond the 100 mark as they rebuilt after Johnson’s fireworks.

Peter Siddle moved around the wicket looking to intimidate with the shorter ball but his lack of accuracy saw a number of deliveries fly harmlessly down the leg side.

Yet the plan eventually paid off as he struck Prior on the thigh before it ricocheted onto his gloves and hit the stumps.

This exposed the tail, which has been lengthened by the loss of Stuart Broad, and Australia’s pace attack made short work of maximising their first-innings lead.

Graeme Swann edged Harris before Chris Tremlett was another victim of Johnson’s in swing. Bell passed fifty but was well caught by captain Ricky Ponting at second slip as he flashed hard at a wide delivery.

Fittingly, Johnson took the final wicket of James Anderson to finish with 6-38, putting both his team and himself backing on track after a torrid start to this Ashes series.

With a lead of 81 Watson and Phil Hughes looked to put England under pressure with some aggressive play from the off. Watson targeted Finn in his very first over but the young seamer fought back and took the wicket of Hughes, Collingwood taking a far simpler catch at slip.

Anderson and Finn applied the brakes and Ponting gloved down the leg side. Initially given not out another good review from England saw the decision overturned for Finn’s second wicket.

England became obsessed with the short ball as Michael Clarke arrived at the crease and he raced onto 20 in just 15 balls. However the introduction of Tremlett, who bowled a fuller length forced the Aussie vice captain to play onto his own stumps.

Watson (61) and Michael Hussey (24) took Australia to the close unbeaten and with a lead of 200.

England dismissed Australia for 304 on the final day to storm to victory by an innings and 71 runs in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide.

Mike Hussey’s dismissal triggered a collapse that ran right through the Australian tail, with James Anderson and Graeme Swann taking the lower order apart in emphatic style.

The tourists got straight to work as forecasts of afternoon rain threatened to dampen their chances of taking a 1-0 lead.

Marcus North escaped an early review off Swann who did not do enough to prevent Andrew Strauss from taking the new ball.

A misfield from substitute fielder Eoin Morgan, on for the injured Stuart Broad who has been ruled out of the rest of the series with an abdominal strain, allowed Hussey to reach his 50.

But his joy was short-lived as Steven Finn removed Hussey when the Australian attempted to pull a length ball far too close to his body, just as he had done in Brisbane. The ball flew up in the air and Anderson made no mistake.

Anderson then did his job with the new ball, swinging it past Brad Haddin’s edge with regularity before he eventually took the bat and Matt Prior held the catch.

A vicious in-swinger trapped Ryan Harris lbw, as he became only the second Australian to record a king pair alongside Adam Gilchrist. Harris reviewed the decision but it was upheld.

North followed in the next over, Swann span one from straight which took the pad before the bat and was given out on appeal; England taking three wickets in just four deliveries.

The chaos continued as Peter Siddle blocked Swann and the ball span back to roll onto the stumps, but the bails remained unmoved. Xavier Doherty was then bowled through the gate by Swann as he took his fourth wicket to put England on the brink of victory.

The England off-spinner then sealed the win, also bowling Siddle through the gate to claim his fifth wicket of the innings.

The sides can now enjoy a break before the third Test gets underway in Perth 15 December at the WACA.