A COUNTY squash player has been selected to represent England in the Men's Over-55s Home Internationals tournament.

It is the third successive season that Burton has been picked, with this year's competition taking place in Aberdeen on May 19 and 20.

"Having made the squad for the past three years, I was a little unsure as to whether to play the Masters circuit for a fourth consecutive season," said Burton, who is first team captain at Hereford Squash, Tennis and Racketball Centre.

"Having played 21 out of the last 22 events, I didn't know if I had the appetite for the training, staying in hotels, travelling the long distances and the huge expense.

"But I got an enormous buzz playing my first Home International in Dublin two years ago and then again in Nottingham last year.

"Pulling on an England shirt for a sport I'm madly passionate about is incredible, so I was desperate to make the squad again.

"The comradery between the players is immense and builds friendships for life.

"This season, I've travelled 1,658miles and had 12 overnight stays in order to secure my place.

"The six-week boot camps at Sixth Sense, getting up twice a week at 6.30am, have proved invaluable in getting in the team, so I now need to get a training programme together to make sure I'm in peak physical condition."

To earn his selection, Burton had to finish in the top six of the England rankings, which required entering five out of six regional competitions and two national tournaments.

His run included reaching the final of the Midlands event in Coventry, beating two England colleagues in the process, getting to the semi-finals of the south tournament in Winchester and making the quarters of the nationals in Manchester, where he lost to Scottish number one Alan Thompson.

“Alan is the current European Masters champion having won the title in Malmo and his drop and lob game disrupted my rhythm,” added Burton.

“I had a couple of very good chances in the first game to win it, however I was on the wrong end of some biblical referring decisions and lost the game 15-13.

“This affected my concentration and I lost the match 3-0.”