Holcombe’s Barry Middleton heads into the World Cup as England and Great Britain’s most capped player.

But when he leads England out against Spain tomorrow (Saturday), he will have no interest in any personal accolades.

He said: “Breaking the record is not something you set out to do but it is a massive achievement and something I am proud of.

“But it is something I will look back on when I am older as something that was nice.

“It is nice to have but not what I play hockey for. We are going to the World Cup and if we win the World Cup, that will mean so much more to me than how many caps I have.”

Middleton passed the previous record held by Russell Garcia at the weekend, when England played Australia in a double-header Test match as their final warm-up for the World Cup in Holland.

Middleton won his 308th and 309th cap as England lost 3-1 and 2-1 to Australia.

“We are learning and growing as a group quickly,” said Middleton, who hopes to lead England to their first World Cup success.

“It is promising to see how much improvement we are making. We want to show how good we are.”