Middleton avoids colour blindness

For Britain’s hockey captain hopes to be the man to lead the home team to the top step of the podium at the radical new Olympic Park hockey pitches next summer.

The Doncaster-born player and his team-mates on both the men’s and women’s sides got to test out the blue surface with a pink run-off area where the London 2012 medals will be decided, last month.

Such a dramatic sea change from the green of field hockey has been introduced along with a white ball to make it easier for the 15,000 fans inside the outdoor hockey arena to enjoy the action at next summer’s Olympics.

And the 27-year-old, who grew up learning the game in Doncaster before honing his skills with five years in Holland and Germany said: “You get used to it pretty quickly.

“The first time we used it it was a bit weird. Your eyes take a while to get used to the colours.

“But it’s amazing how quickly something becomes normal and you get used to something.

“It doesn’t bother me and anything that’s good for tv is good for hockey, because we need the exposure and the main point is it doesn’t affect the players.”

Of more immediate concern for Middleton is success at next month’s Champions Trophy.

Great Britain are one of eight teams contesting the annual tournament which will be held in Auckland, New Zealand, from December 3-11. Middleton led the England team that finished second in last year’s version, having placed outside the medals in fourth at the Commonwealth Games earlier that year.

England also won a bronze medal at the European Championships this summer, and just to emphasise how strong a bet Britain are for a medal at their home Olympics in 2012, England finished fourth at last year’s quadrennial World Cup.

All this fuss-free cross-representing of St George’s and Union Jacks will be a breath of fresh air for the Olympic authorities following the furore kicked up about England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland players playing under one flag at football.

But then hockey has never been a sport to dominate headlines. Undeterred, Middleton is the type to get his head down and concentrate on matters within his control.

“This is the last big tournament on the schedule before London so we are definitely thinking about London,” he said. “We are still focussing hard on this tournament and the Olympics is still far enough away that we don’t go into this one with any distractions, but even at this stage our training has been geared towards London.”

Britain have been drawn in a tough Champions Trophy pool alongside favourites Australia, Spain and Pakistan.

“However you look at that group it is tough. It doesn’t get much harder,” says Middleston.

“Australia are No 1 in the world right now, they were unstoppable last year but they are beatable this year.

“We haven’t spoken about targets yet as a group. The main thing is we want to gain experience of pressure games, we want to be fighting for final places.”