ROURKELA: As a 13-year-old rookie, Oliver Payne's first competitive match was for the Dart Hockey club's women's team. A mixed community club, the Dart outfit is based out of Totnes, a quaint town known as much for its cultural heritage as for its monuments, around 350 km from London. Oliver was asked to fill in for the goalkeeper by his mother Suzanne, a member of the squad.
A decade on, the 23-year-old is the mainstay goalkeeper of the England team, having replaced the seasoned George Pinne and Harry Gibson. Payne, who was named the goalkeeper of the tournament at the Sultan Johor Cup in 2019, came to the forefront in July 2020 and has since been England's go-to custodian.
