THE heat is already on Canterbury’s World Cup hockey hopefuls, more than a week before they leave for the tournament in Australia.

The club ladies’ captain, Mel Clewlow, and her team-mates Anna Bennett and Frances Houslop, are with the England training camp at Southgate, and using a heat chamber at the University of Hertfordshire in an attempt to acclimatise to the likely temperatures they will face in Perth.

Clewlow said: “We are using the chamber in groups, and it was set at 34C this week. We were sweating quite a lot but most of the girls found it bearable.

“The really good news was that the whole squad came through last weekend’s National League programme unscathed.”

The tournament runs from November 24 to December 9. Clewlow and Bennett, both 26, have played in previous World Cups, but Houslop, 20, will be playing at this level for the first time.

England were ninth in the last event, four years ago, and are presently ranked seventh in the world. They will begin in a qualifying group against Australia, Holland and Spain, all of whom are ranked higher.