The 17-year-old from Cannock has yet to appear for England but been elevated to the Olympic squad after scoring on her Britain debut in the 3 – 0 win over Argentina in November 2007. 

 

Earlier in 2007, Craddock was a member of the gold medal winning British squad at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival, scoring in the final as Britain overcame the hosts 4–2.

 

She said: I’m still in shock about being selected, especially considering I suffered a set back in February with a stress fracture in my back.

 

"I owe a lot to Ashleigh Wallace and all the EIS (Englisth Institute of Sport) staff at Bisham who have helped me with my rehab and I’m very excited to be involved in the squad.”

 

Craddock is part of a 16-strong squad for Britain's return to the Games following their failure to qualify for the 2004 Olympics.

 

Danny Kerry, the team's head coach, said: “Following the GB framework agreement and England women qualifying GB direct via the 2007 European Nations Cup we have been able to have the longest GB preparatory phase ever.

 

"Much can still be improved in respect of a four year GB cycle, and plans are in place for 2012; however we have come a long way compared to previous cycles.

 

"As such we have been considering the nature of the GB squad since 2006 and assessing in earnest since January 2007 and today’s final squad announcement follows an exhaustive process which has included measuring players against the best teams in the world in testing climatic conditions.

 

"The squad itself has a good nucleus of experienced players, some of whom have already tasted Olympic competition in 2000.

 

"Equally the squad contains an element of youth which over the programme has shown its effectiveness against top ranked international teams.

 

"We have a very athletic squad with high levels of physical conditioning and we have worked hard to know our game of hockey such that it is robust under the pressure of Olympic competition.

 

"We will very simply take each game as it comes at the Games, avoiding speculation as to final positioning and instead remaining focussed on the immediate task in hand.”

 

The men's squad will be hoping that the Summer Olympics returning to Asia for the first time in 20 years will be a good omen.

 

The last time it was held there, in Seoul in 1988, they won the gold medal, memorably beating the Germans in the final.

 

Jason Lee, the team's head coach, said: "Selection is always a difficult time, but it has been exceptionally difficult this time as all of the players competing for a position have put in tremendous effort during this phase.

 

"I think they all deserve to go to the Olympic Games, but of course there is only a limited number who can.

 

"The 16 selected for the Olympics are the same that took the field in the final of the Olympic qualifying tournament when they defeated India to take the only Olympic spot available from that tournament, so the group have shown that they are able to perform excellently under pressure.

 

"The group include a lot of players who can play in many different positions, such as Richard Alexander and Barry Middleton, which is useful in order to change tactics and cover injuries within a game.

 

"There are a number who offer a threat at penalty corners, notably Richard Mantell, Ashley Jackson and Matt Daly, and a number have a good open play goal scoring record over the last four years, particularly James Tindall and Simon Mantell.

 

"The playing group have limited Olympic experience, with only three of them having appeared at an Olympic Games before; Barry Middleton, Ben Hawes and Rob Moore, but this group have repeatedly shown that they are able to cope with new and challenging environments, so I have no fear that they may wilt under the Olympic spot light.

 

"With the selection process completed, we will now take a few weeks to discuss who would be the most appropriate player to take the formal responsibility of captaining the group."

 

Hawes, the Surbiton player who has won 63 Britain caps, said: “After a long training and selection process I am delighted to be selected for what will be my second Olympic Games.

 

"Now selection is over, our focus quickly has to change to team performance, we have developed a lot and tried some new things since the qualifier and I believe we will be very competitive in Beijing.

 

"Out of 20 games this year we have only lost twice and confidence is high in the team.

 

"We are a very tight knit group, with the core of the team being together since the Junior World Cup in 2001.”

 

Simon Clegg, Team GB's Chef de Mission in Beijing, said: “I am extremely pleased that both the men’s and women’s hockey teams will be a part of Team GB at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

 

"I wish both squads well in their final preparations at the Team GB Preparation Camp in Macau and look forward to watching their progress in Beijing.”

 

To see the full men and women's squad visit http://www.olympics.org.uk/beijing2008/news.aspx?id=2410.

 

Click here to watch a video of the men’s hockey squad in training with Barry Middleton introducing key Team GB members.

 

Click here to read Barry Middleton’s diary from inside the GB men’s hockey camp.