Hockey: Scots boosted in bid for place at Indoor World Cup

Scotland's women have been handed a lifeline for the Indoor World Cup to be held in Poland in February as they have been officially named as the next reserve nation by the International Hockey Federation

The Scots failed to achieve an automatic qualification when Gordon Shepherd's charges were relegated from the European Nations Championships last January.

However, the earlier withdrawal of New Zealand, second in the Oceanic group, opened the door for first reserves Austria to take up the vacant place in Poznan. The next reserve place was based on the final rankings in the 2007 World Cup held in Vienna, where the Scots came a creditable eighth.

Meanwhile, the EuroLeague have announced that the opening round of this season's competition will take place over the weekends of October 15-17 and October 29-31. Glynhill Kelburne, Scotland's representative, and the three English clubs will have problems with the first date as the Commonwealth Games in Delhi finishes on 14 October. Kelburne have nine players in the Scotland squad and will see it as crucial that they are allocated the second weekend.