Hockey: Mayer makes a four-goal start

Chris Mayer, the England winger, scored four times as the defending champions Staffordshire started the defence of their Norwich Union County Championship title with a crushing 7-0 win against Warwickshire, writes Brian Tatlock. Other goals came from Ben Sharpe (2) and Kalbir Takhar. Cheshire, beaten finalists last time, notched up a 5-1 win against the RAF in their first game, with Martyn Grimley among the scorers. There were goals galore at Woking as Surrey started with an 8-0 win against the Isle of Man with Surbiton's Gary Notton and Jon Malloy each scoring twice.