Manchester Stars Seeded For Historic Nationals Success

Today's announcement of the seedings for next month's British National Championships at the National Squash Centre at Sportcity in Manchester suggest that the main titles will fall into local hands for the first time in the event's history.

Vicky Botwright, from Worsley in Manchester, is favourite in the women's event for the first time, while Manchester/Pontefract Premier League team star James Willstrop is top seed in the men's championship, also for the first time.

Botwright leapt to No5 in the world rankings in December to become England's highest-ranked woman player for the first time. Simultaneously, Willstrop catapulted six places to a career-high No2 in the men's world list to overtake his Manchester/Pontefract team-mate Lee Beachill as the highest-ranked Englishman in the world.

The 2006 British National Championships get underway at the NSC on Tuesday 7 February after qualifying on Sunday and Monday (5/6 February). The finals, on the all-glass showcourt which staged the Commonwealth Games action in 2002, will take place on Sunday 12 February.

Since crowning his status as England's most successful junior of all time by winning the World U19 title in India in December 2002, 22-year-old James Willstrop - from Pontefract in Yorkshire - has enjoyed a glittering run as a senior. After reaching last year's Nationals' final, he went on to reach the climax of the British Open final - also at the NSC. But his appearance in December's Qatar Classic final provided the standout result of the year when he beat Australia's David Palmer in straight games to lift the prestigious Super Series title in Doha.

Vicky Botwright reached five international tour finals last year, winning the Yokohama Open crown in Japan. In addition, the 28-year-old claimed the first title in her home town when she won the Gerrard Grand Prix trophy at the NSC in September.

The British Nationals will again boast world-class fields - including defending men's champion Lee Beachill, the world No8 who is hoping to become the first man to reach the final six years in a row, and women's champion Linda Elriani, the world No6 from Sussex who won the title for the first time last year in her 17th appearance in the event.

Elriani is seeded to meet Botwright in the women's final, while Beachill is named as third seed in the men's event, behind Peter Nicol, arguably Britain's most successful player of all time, who is the No2 seed. Nicol, who won the 50th major international title of his career last year, will be looking to win his third National trophy in Manchester - ten years after winning his first!

The 2006 championships will mark the first time that Nicol, Willstrop, Beachill and Yorkshire's Nick Matthew have been together since winning the World Team Championships title for England in Pakistan in December.

Men's seeds:
[1] James Willstrop (Yorks)
[2] Peter Nicol (Yorks)
[3] Lee Beachill (Yorks)
[4] Nick Matthew (Yorks)
[5] Alex Gough (Wales)
[6] Peter Barker (Essex)
[7] Adrian Grant (Kent)
[8] Joey Barrington (Somerset)
[9] Jonathan Kemp (Shropshire)
[10] Simon Parke (Yorks)
[11] Nick Taylor (Lancs)
[12] Stephen Meads (Berks)
[13] Ben Garner (Surrey)
[14] Alister Walker (Glos)
[15] Phillip Barker (Essex)
[16] Peter Genever (Sussex)

Women's seeds:
[1] Vicky Botwright (Lancs)
[2] Linda Elriani (Sussex)
[3] Tania Bailey (Lincs)
[4] Jenny Duncalf (Yorks)
[5] Alison Waters (Middx)
[6] Laura-Jane Lengthorn (Lancs)
[7] Stephanie Brind (Kent)
[8] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Middx)