Hockey (or ‘field hockey’ as it is known in countries such as the United States, to differentiate it from ice hockey) is an 11-a-side game that is played on a pitch measuring 100 yards by 60 yards - or 91.4 metres by 55 metres. Each player uses a stick with a rounded head to play the ball, although the only player allowed to use either their feet or their hands as well as their stick is the goalkeeper.

Players are allowed to play the ball with any part of the stick, other than the rounded side of the head. The flat side of the head is always on the ‘natural side’ for a right-handed player. There are no left-handed hockey sticks and therefore no left-handed hockey players.

A goal is scored when the ball is played within the attacking circle (or the ’D’ as it also referred to) by an attacker and does not travel outside the circle before entering the goal. The ball may be played by a defender or touch their body before or after being played in the circle by an attacker. Put simply, a goal cannot therefore be scored by a player who strikes the ball outside the opposition circle, even if it subsequently deflects off a defender inside the circle and goes in the goal.

There are 4,000-year-old drawings from Egypt that depict games being played with curved sticks and a ball. The modern game of hockey developed in England in the middle part of the 19th century (what major sport didn’t?) and quickly spread, like cricket, throughout the British Empire, largely due to the British Army. Just as India, Pakistan and Australia have been successful on the cricket field, so too those three countries all possess a rich and proud hockey pedigree.

Higher-level hockey is now played almost exclusively on artificial grass pitches, which offer a vastly superior playing surface compared to the traditional grass pitches of yesteryear. With players now able to control the ball more easily, modern hockey is a faster and vastly more entertaining game than it used to be. In recent years, pitches have developed further, with water being used as a shock absorber.

Hockey is, for the most part, played outdoors, but a six-a-side variation can be played indoors.

There are about 1,050 hockey clubs in England. A typical club will consist of maybe four to six adult teams, though some are much bigger and others will comprise only one side.

The men’s Euro Hockey League, the hockey equivalent to football’s European Champions League, was introduced in the 2007-08 season. In total, 24 clubs from 12 countries now compete on an annual basis for the right to be called Europe’s number one hockey team.

Hockey was first introduced to the Olympics at the 1908 London Games, where four of the six competing teams represented England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The other two countries to participate were France, who suffered a 10-1 drubbing at the hands of England in a first-round match, and Germany. England beat Ireland 8-1 in the final, with Reggie Pridmore scoring four goals. The other four were shared by Gerald Logan and the splendidly named Stanley Shoveller. The official report of the final ceases its description of the game after England took a 5-1 lead, stating only: “By this time, England had taken control of the game and won with eight goals to one“.

Great Britain, who were represented by England, won gold at the 1920 Antwerp Games, the only other time that hockey was included in the Olympics until 1928, when India started a remarkable run of success. India won all six gold medals between 1928 and 1956 before also triumphing again in 1964 and 1980, meaning that they have been the men‘s Olympic champions a record eight times. Britain (including the 1908 success by England) have been victorious on three occasions, as have Pakistan.

Australia, for their part, have won eight medals in men’s Olympic hockey tournaments, although only one of those has been gold - in 2004.

Britain won its third gold medal in men’s Olympic hockey at the Seoul Games of 1988, when West Germany were defeated 3-1 in the final. Imran Sherwani, a Stoke-on-Trent newsagent, bagged two goals for Britain while the prolific Sean Kerly claimed the other. Remember the BBC television commentary? After the second goal put Britain 2-0 up in the second half, Barry Davies momentarily, and gorgeously, lost his usual sense of neutrality. “Where, oh where, were the Germans?” he asked, before adding after a short pause: “And frankly, who cares?” Great stuff, Barry!

Britain’s fifth-place finish at the 2008 Beijing Games was the best by a British men’s team since the memorable gold medal in Seoul 20 years previously.

Women’s hockey was added to the Olympic roster in 1980. Australia have won the gold medal on three occasions and the Netherlands twice while Zimbabwe, Spain and Germany have each claimed the title once. Britain have won one Olympic medal in women’s hockey - a bronze in 1992.