KATE Richardson-Walsh is set to make hockey history – although she believes she may already have done so, writes Dave Wright.

The 35-year-old Reading star is poised to become Great Britain’s most capped female player of all time.

She is currently on 353, two short of the record held by Karen Brown, a current England coach and former Slough player.

Richardson-Walsh (pictured right), who is also on 49 international goals, is expected to break the record in the third of six matches GB are to play in Australia, starting next week.

But before flying out to Perth this week, she told the Chronicle: “To be honest, I think I have already beaten the record as I don’t think my indoor caps have been taken into consideration. But perhaps it is better to ignore those, and I am happy to stick to the 353.

“It is a massive milestone for me and one I can feel proud of.

“I remember when I first got into the team Karen was coming towards the end of her career and had what I thought was a ridiculous amount of caps. I remember thinking at the time there is no way I am going to get anywhere near that total.

“Now youngsters in the (current) team are telling me they cannot see themselves playing for that long, but you never know as we appear to be playing more international games than before.”

Richardson-Walsh is one of four Reading players in the GB squad, being joined by her partner Helen, Alex Danson and the recalled Susie Gilbert.

It does mean, however, that they will be missing the next four Reading matches at a time when the club are battling to stay clear of the Premier Division relegation zone.

Blues, fourth from bottom, get back to league action this Saturday (1.30pm) with a vital home game against tailenders Buckingham.

l READING men’s involvement in Super Sixes day ended in disappointment when they crashed 9-6 to Canterbury in their semi-final.

Blues had enjoyed a successful indoor league campaign, finishing runners-up to East Grinstead with seven wins from eight games which included a 6-5 victory over Canterbury.

But it was a completely different story at Wembley Arena on Sunday – despite the fact they had strengthened their squad with the inclusion of internationals Simon Mantell, Dan Shingles and John Jackson.

Reading, also beaten semi-finalists last year, were punished for a slow start, conceding goals in the second and fifth minutes.

It became 3-0 after 15 minutes and by half-time it was 4-0 with the Sonning Lane men having no answer to the pace and incisive attacks from a side inspired by player-coach Kwan Browne.

They had to do something desperate in a bid to get back in the game and they withdrew keeper Tommy Alexander in order to play with six outfield players for the remaining 20 minutes.

Ninety seconds after the restart, Dan Shingles opened Reading’s goal account and England teammate Simon Mantell wasn’t far away from quickly adding a second.

However, they remained vulnerable in defence and were unable to prevent Canterbury adding three goals in the opening five minutes of the second half.

Tom Carson found the net to make it 7-2, only to see the Kent men net their eighth. Mantell scored Reading’s third before Browne completed his hat-trick to make it 9-3.

Late strikes from Mantell, again, and player-coach Andy Watts (2) brought a little bit more respectability to the scoreline, but at this stage of the game Canterbury were already thinking about the final. However, that was to prove a let down for them, as they crashed 5-2 to East Grinstead, who were crowned national champions for the eighth year in succession.

Reading resume their outdoor season with a trip to Beeston this Saturday (2pm).

The Blues are third in the Premier Division, while the Bees are third from bottom.