England star Baker now walking tall

WHEN Ronnie Baker went for trials with the England Under-15 basketball team, he was told he was too short to make the grade. Now aged 33, Baker is on the verge of becoming the country's most-capped player.

The London Towers point guard will equal the landmark held by the national team's assistant coach, Peter Scantlebury, tonight when England take on Italy at the Coventry Skydome in a qualifying match for next year's European Championships.

It will be his 131st game for England and comes 14 years after his international debut against China.

Baker is set to pass the milestone as England's campaign takes them to Slovenia on Saturday before they return to face the Czech Republic in Birmingham on 27 November.

And in a 17-year career, which has included spells with the Leopards, Crystal Palace and the Brixton Topcats, Baker has seven BBL winners' medals and has won every honour in the domestic game.

Not bad for someone who supposedly did not have a future in the sport.

Baker said: "It would mean a lot to me to get the record as I have worked so hard over the years. I remember when I was at those trials. I'm not sure how tall I was at the time, but I'm 5ft 7in now and I haven't grown that much since then. They said I had all the skills but that I was too small to make it.

"But I knew I had what it took to play basketball and also that in my position, point guard, you don't really need to be a tall player. I just knew I had to work harder to prove people wrong and it made me more determined. I never felt like giving up."

England are bidding to make their first European Championship finals for 21 years and midway through qualifying are level on points with Slovenia and the Czech Republic in the race for third place in Group E.

There are five groups and the four best third-placed teams go to next September's finals in Sweden.

Russia and Italy are the top two in Group E and are expected to qualify automatically.

Not only are England in one of the toughest groups, but their preparations have been hit by problems.

Firstly, a lack of money meant this week was the first time the squad have trained together since they lost 74-70 to Portugal in January. That limited head coach Laszlo Nemeth's options when he was deciding on who to select for these fixtures.

He said: "Players who were merely close had no chance to be in the squad.

They did not have one single training session or trial to show whether they are good enough."

Then Andy Betts, of AEK Athens, and Steve Hansell, of Larissa, were unable to join the rest of the squad on Sunday because of club commitments in Greece and missed Monday night's 79-69 defeat in the friendly in Ireland.

However, both will be available for the qualifiers, starting with the clash against the 1999 European champions Italy.

The Italians beat England 99-63 in the opening group game and Baker, who missed that match after breaking a bone in his hand, said: "Italy will be tough, but you never know what will happen in sport.

"We've just got to go out there and do our best. And hopefully we'll have a good crowd there to support us."

Slovenia will also be difficult opponents as they have never failed to qualify for the finals and will be out for revenge after losing 73-70 to England last year.

The squad also includes Yorick Williams, of the Essex Leopards.

After meeting the Czech Republic, England conclude their campaign in January with a trip to Russia followed by a home match against Portugal.

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