Cambridge confident

Hockey

Mike Meredith, the Cambridge captain, had few fears yesterday when he threw down the challenge to Oxford's captain, the New Zealander, Matt Barr, for next Tuesday's Varsity Match at Milton Keynes National Stadium, writes Bill Colwill.

Meredith, three times an Oxford Blue, feels he knows a lot about the traditional event and the Oxford set-up and was able to announce a full strength starting line-up. He hopes to have the edge and break Oxford's stranglehold of the last six years on the Varsity Bowl.

Oxford have had their injury problems and the recent inclusion in their League side, in order to stave off relegation threats, of German Under- 21 international Henning Tewes, who is not eligible for Tuesday's game, will not have helped their preparations.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY: L Crofts (St Catherine's), D Morant (Magdalen), T Griffiths (Keble), J MacCormick (Exeter), M Barr (New, capt ), B Raumann (St Catherine's), R Irvine (Lincoln), R Wilcock ( Brasenose), G Bretten (Keble), T Matthews (St Edmund Hall), D Edwards (St Edmund Hall), T Johnson ( Jesus), J Cutress (Worcester), C Oliver (Keble), B Cope (Brasenose), J Hodges (Queen's).

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY: P Piotrowicz (Fitzwilliam); I Sands (Robinson); D Churton (St Catharine's), D Harding (Robinson), T Parr (Sidney Sussex); O Brew (Emmanuel), M Meredith (Clare, capt), I Bateman (Emmanuel); J Mayer (St Johns), C Mannall (Homerton), G Playfair (Robinson). Substitutes: T Gilman (Hughes Hall), C Lipscomb (Sidney Sussex), M Loose (St Catharine's), H Ward (Emmanuel), D Heathcote (Christ's).