ENGLAND are to start one of their busiest badminton season's with three firsts - a first friendly international match against Poland, an inaugural fixture at Swindon and the first appearance of the England team under their new CenterParcs sponsorship.

The England-Poland international will be at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon on Thursday, November 6 in a match to mark the 10th anniversary of the Swindon and District Badminton Association.

The contest is made possible thanks to the support of Swindon Borough Council and civil engineering company BAM Nuttall Ltd, who are responsible for the 10-year Swindon Redevelopment Plan.

England have never met Poland in a friendly international but have faced one another in major events, most recently at the European Team Championship at Herning in April when they beat them 3-0 in the semi-finals on the way to the silver medal behind hosts Denmark.

Poland helped the England doubles players in the Team GB squad to prepare for the Olympic Games and the international in Swindon will offer the chance of a rematch of the European Individual Championships' mixed doubles final in Herning between gold medallists and world No 9 ranked pair Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg and world No 11 ranked Robert Mateusiak and Nadiezda Kostiuczyk.

The Polish squad also includes world No 12 men's singles player Przemyslaw Wacha and women's doubles star Kamilla Augustyn, who with Kostiuczyk is ranked No 17 in the world in women's doubles..

As well as Clark and Kellogg, the England squad is likely to feature former Olympic silver medallist Nathan Robertson, who this sEason starts his quest for the nine caps needed to take him into England's elite 100 Club.

What they had to say:

England head coach Ian Wright said: "This is a big season for England's established and emerging players as we build towards the European Team Championship in Liverpool in February and the Sudirman Cup world team championship in China in May. The match with Poland is just what we need to sharpen the players' appetite and both teams have the players to make this a tight contest."

Darren Parks, BADMINTON England's Head of Competitions and Events, added: "The Swindon match is a great way to mark the 50th anniversary and to remembers the contribution to the English game of the late Tony Winslow, a BADMINTON England board member and for so long a driving force in Swindon badminton. It is marvellous to see that 'Uncle Tone's' passion for badminton still exists among his Wiltshire county colleagues and we hope this match is a worthy reflection of the Swindon and District Association's efforts over the years."

Justin Tomlinson, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Recreation for Swindon Borough Council, said: “We are delighted to be hosting such a prestigious badminton international in Swindon at our ever-popular Oasis Leisure Centre. The visit of Poland is of particular relevance to Swindon as a significant number of our residents are of Polish origin. We wish both teams all the best and look forward to a great night of top-class badminton.”

Tickets for the England v Poland match go on sale today and can be purchased direct from The Oasis Leisure Centre or by phoning the Ticket Hotline on 01793 445401 (prices £10 with concessions at £8 for BE members, and £6 for Under 16s and senior citizens).

Play starts at 6.45pm on Thursday November 6 and the match features one each of men’s and women’s singles and doubles plus one mixed doubles.