International hockey comes to Shropshire this weekend – twice in the space of 24 hours, writes JAMES GARRISON.

England will take on France in two official test matches at Lilleshall’s National Sports Centre.

The first game will take place on Friday night at 7.30pm, with the teams meeting again on Saturday at 11.30am.

England are currently ranked fourth in the world and, after finishing second in the Champions Trophy in August, will use the games as preparations for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi next month.

The games were not initially scheduled as full internationals but have been upgraded following a request from French officials.

There will be free entry for the matches.

Meanwhile, the first and second teams of Shropshire’s leading club Telford & Wrekin will play their home matches at Lilleshall this season.

They have moved to allow an extra junior team to play at their usual base at St Georges.

“We will usually be playing on the brand new water based pitch at Lilleshall which will be fantastic,” said Telford spokesman Jon Woodrow.

“We have been training there all summer and we can already see improvements in our game,” he said.

“It’s a faster surface which will suit our style and I think other teams are going to find it difficult to come to our place.”

Telford & Wrekin’s first home game of the season when they entertain Warwick (12.30pm).

• Full preview in today’s Shropshire Star