BOLTON table tennis ace Andrew Rushden proved a lucky star as he helped England to victory on his debut.

The 19-year-old was in fine form as helped his country to victory over Israel - their first win of the season.

Rushden won his own game against Shimon Rabinovich 11-3 11-1 11-4 in the tie which took place in Liverpool.

Andrew now lives and trains in Nottingham, and plays professionally in the German Bundesliga, which is considered to be the best league in the world.

He is currently ranked eighth in this country and in the top 500 in the world, but his father Geoff believes he should be much higher.

Geoff, who lives in Walkden, said: "The standard in Germany is very high, and there are not the opportunities in England.

"He is based in Nottingham but he flies over to Germany to compete and then pretty much flies back home."

"However, he cannot pick up ranking points in that league so it is very important for him to play for England and do well.

"It was an excellent debut, and hopefully things will continue to go well."