Barry Middleton


Barry John Middleton is an English international field hockey player who played as a midfielder and forward for England and Great Britain. He captained his country for many years.
Middleton plays club hockey in the Men's England Hockey League for Holcombe.
He made his international debut, aged 19, in April 2003 against Belgium and was a member of the Great Britain squad that finished ninth at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, fifth in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and fourth at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He was part of the England squad that won the 2009 Eurohockey Nations Cup. He captained the England squad that won bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
On 24 May 2014 he became the most capped English hockey international when he played his 308th international game.. The match was against Australia at Bisham Abbey, Berkshire.
The previous record holder was Russell Garcia with 307 GB/England caps.
He has previously played club hockey for East Grinstead, HGC, Cannock and Doncaster.
He was named in the International Hockey Federation's All-Star team in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and was shortlisted for 'Player Of The Year' in those three years.
On 4 December 2017 he played his 400th international match.. The match was against Australia in the 2016–17 Men's FIH Hockey World League Final, Bhubaneswar, India.
On 19 December 2018 it was announced that he is taking a break from international hockey in 2019.
On 8 April 2019 he announced his retirement from international hockey.
Middleton was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to hockey.