Road to Selection 2026 - Who's In Already and who has work to do?

​England Racketball Road to Selection 2026 Update

A breakdown of what it all entails…

• Three events left in the selection period
• Men’s, Women’s O40s, O50s, O60s and O70s categories all up for grabs
• 4 players per team in all categories barring Women’s and O70s which are 3 per team
• Internationals takes place in England for the first time, at the Connaught and Woodford Wells Squash Clubs. This year sponsored by Price of Bath!
• England hold the titles in all categories currently, Scotland (O70s) and Jersey (O60s) the only other successful nations to date

MEN’S OPEN - 4 PLACES IN TEAM:

ALREADY QUALIFIED:

Mike Harris - Devon (reigning British National and Open Champion)
Billy Jones - Kent (British National O35s Runner Up, Open O35s Winner)

IN THE MIX:

Ben Bryant - Worcs
Luke Bishop - Somerset
Ted Jeal - Kent
Calli Smith - Wilts

All the above are involved in one or more of the last three Series events, with two spots left for selection it is very much all to play for! Calli and Ben are in all three of them, giving them some flexibility, but with Ted and Luke just having one competition each they need to make sure they get a W under the belt to stand a chance of getting in.


WOMEN’S OPEN - 3 PLACES IN TEAM:

ALREADY QUALIFIED:

Amber Marshall - Kent (reigning British National and Open Women’s Champion)
Jasmin Kalar - Berks (British National Runner Up, British Open Semi Finalist)

IN THE MIX:

Ali Billington - Shrops
Karen Bealey - Devon
Linda Pritchard - Shrops

All the above are involved in one or more of the last three Series events, with just ONE spot left for selection it is very much all to play for! Ali & Linda are playing all three comps so have room for a bad day at the office, Karen playing 2 out of 3. With the curveballs of Jasmin K and the return to Series action of Roxy Keshavarz in the remaining events, it’s going to be a very close call to see who sneaks that 3rd spot!


MEN’S O40 - 4 PLACES IN TEAM:

ALREADY QUALIFIED:

Paul Norton - Yorks (Mr Consistent across the Series events this run, British Open O45s Runner Up)
Ryan Loska - Shrops (reigning British National and Open O45s Champion)

IN THE MIX:

Alexis Smith - Dorset
Adam Giles - Dorset

Nearly all done and dusted this one, Alexis and Adam just needing to make sure they get the required events in the bank to guarantee selection. Hard luck to Craig Chappell (getting married) and Nick Jenkins (health) on missing out on what would have been a very tight run to the finish otherwise!


MEN’S O50S - 4 PLACES IN TEAM:

ALREADY QUALIFIED:

Technically no one!!

IN THE MIX:

Steve Smith - Leics
Phillip Hall - Surrey
Nick Billington - Shrops
Andy Speake - Worcs
Chris Wase - Shrops
Andy Murray - Warks
Chris Morris - Shrops
Paul Dodds - Durham
It’s battle royale in the O50s! A testament to the strength in depth of the players in this category that there are so many in with a shout of selection pending the results from these last three events! 

While Smith / Billington / Hall and Speake are almost certainly there, if they have a bad set of events or injuries, and some of the others have good runs, then they could well miss out! With virtually all of the chasing pack playing at least 2 out of 3 of the tournaments, anything could happen. 

NOTE: Depending on the amount of entries from the other Nations there is a chance that we may enter an ‘’England B’’ side in this category, so all of the above could potentially be selected. But don’t hedge your bets!


MEN’S O60S - 4 PLACES IN TEAM:

ALREADY QUALIFIED:

Patrick Osborn - Essex (British Nationals O60s Runner Up, British Open O60s Champion)
John Cordeaux - Norfolk (British Nationals O60s Champion, British Open O60s Semi Finalist)

IN THE MIX:

Jim Muirhead - Yorks
Chris Davey - Cornwall
Darren Withey - Herts
Robin Chipperfield - Shrops
Mark Banfield - Kent
Michael Wardle - Surrey

As inevitable as the passing of the ages, Osborn and Cordeaux sit at the top of the tree, both incredibly consistent and classy performers leading the way in the category. The chasing pack though  has got some work to do for the two remaining spots, with all of the players involved in at least 2 out of the last 3 tournaments. Davey (reigning O65s National and Open Champion) looks to be the most likely to get one of the two remaining spots, after that it will come down to who can see off the rest!

NOTE: Depending on the amount of entries from the other Nations there is a chance that we may enter an ‘’England B’’ side in this category, so all of the above could potentially be selected. But don’t hedge your bets!


MEN’S O70S - 3 PLACES IN TEAM:

ALREADY QUALIFIED:

Ian Graham - Sussex (reigning O75s British National Champion, Open O70s Runner Up)
Andy Mitchell - Devon (reigning O70s British National Champion and Open Champion)
John Herbekto - Dorset (O70s British National Runner Up)

IN THE MIX:

Paul Loska - Shrops
Rob Lathbury - Staffs
Richard Firmin - Lincs
Paul Hudson Oldnall - Surrey

Another very strong in depth category this one, with all of those in the running order having been incredibly consistent over the past selection period. The top three having done the important business in the key majors in order to see them into pole position. The rest however still very much have a chance to get their names in the hat and have at least one or two events out of the remaining three in which to do so!

NOTE: We are likely to enter an ‘’England B’’ side in this category, so all of the above could potentially be selected into that second side. So very much still all to play for!


It has been great to see such a well contested 2026 Road to Selection period, it’s provided some brilliant battles across Series and Major events alike, and has also brought some new faces into the mix.

2027’s Selection starts with the July British National Championships in Birmingham, leading up to September 2027 Internationals where we head back to where it all started - Glasgow in Scotland! Don’t miss out on your chance to hit the ground running and get your name in there…