Team England reshuffle after World Champs

Today, Team England coach Jakob Høi confirmed that the Commonwealth Games and the following World Championships will be the last time some of the England team appear in their current pairings.

“It’s been a long process getting the pairs prepared and peaking in time for the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships. And for some of the current pairs this will be their last outing. The players have known in the team for some time that this will be happening and the change will be more of a focus on the one doubles event each.” said Høi.

The partnerships that will be split up are women’s doubles pair Lauren Smith and Gabby Adcock (World No. 27) and mixed doubles pair Chris Langridge and Heather Olver (World No. 20). The changes mean that Lauren Smith and Heather Olver will form a new partnership having previously only played together in the European Mixed Team Championships in 2013. Chris Langridge will also look to focus solely on his men’s doubles with Peter Mills.

Chris Langridge first broke the news after qualifying for the Commonwealth Games mixed final where he and Heather Olver will face teammates Chris and Gabby Adcock.

He said “This will be one of the last times we play together so it’ll be really nice to go out on a high, especially as we’ll be playing against another England pair in the final.”