IT will be a formality for Malaysia when they play England in their opening Thomas Cup Group B match at the Senayan Stadium in Jakarta today.

England doubles coach Tan Kim Her, a former player who represented Malaysia, admitted as much yesterday.

"There is no way we can match Malaysia, so we have decided to expose the younger shuttlers this time around," said Kim Her.

"However, it will interesting to see how Malaysia fare against the South Koreans later."

Incidentally, Kim Her was one of the doubles coaches in South Korea for two years before moving to England in 2007.
England surprisingly dropped former World Championships doubles runners-up Robert Blair-Anthony Clark and singles shuttlers Aamir Ghaffar and Nicholas Kidd from their Thomas Cup squad.

National chief coach Yap Kim Hock was unaware that England had dropped the four players until local journalists brought it to his attention.

Earlier, he hinted of the possibility that Blair-Clark could steal a point against Malaysia.

However, Kim Hock later stressed that he would still be fielding his best players for the opening match.

"We are here to win every match and it will be important for the players to get a win to boost their confidence before facing South Korea on Monday (tomorrow)," said Kim Hock yesterday.

"It's not a warm-up match. We are treating it seriously. It will also be an opportunity for the players to adapt to the slight drift in the stadium."

The coach also brushed off rumours that Malaysia might not be at their best against the South Koreans.

"As the scheduled is tight, we need to beat South Korea for an easier opponent in the quarter-finals before taking on China in the last four," he said.

Team captain Wong Choong Hann, meanwhile, said facing England will give him and his teammates the opportunity to fine-tune their games.

"We need to get into rhythm and sharpen our focus before facing tougher teams like South Korea.

"I believe that if everyone plays his part, we will go all the away to the final."