YORK squash ace Mat Lowery has overcome adversity to achieve his number one goal in the sport – to represent his country on court.

The 35-year-old former Wigginton and Yorkshire player has qualified for the England Over-35s team to take on Scotland, Ireland and Wales in the Home Internationals in May.

Fulford-born Lowery booked his place in the team by heading the Masters Tour rankings, thanks to victories in the Midland Masters and the South of England Masters, plus runs to the quarter-finals of the British Open and British Closed championships.

After a lifetime of dedication to the sport, Lowery declared winning a place in the national team was “the icing on the cake” and “a great honour”.

Lowery’s achievement is all the more remarkable as it comes only four years after he underwent a three-hour operation to treat a twisted bowel.

The surgery left him unable to walk for a spell and he was unable to return to the game for a year.

He said: “I have consciously upped my training regime over the last year. Being as fit as I could be has helped my confidence and stamina.

“It would have been a bitter pill to swallow if all the hard physical work had not paid off.

“I think the sacrifice and reward is also the sweeter when I think back to four years ago when I had the operation.

“That seriously impacted my core abdominal strength and it took several weeks before I could walk normally. This effectively took me out of squash for a full year and it was a difficult road back to regain full fitness.

“As a result, I did really appreciate what I had and it changes your entire perspective on life and how you approach it.”

By heading the Masters Tour list, Lowery admitted he exceeded his own expectations.

“At the start of the season, my main goal was to qualify for England selection,” he said.

“But to have done that, win two tournaments and finish first in the rankings is more than I ever expected.

“I have always set myself the goal to represent my country at the sport.

“I have represented four separate counties at all age groups since under-14 and have played semi-professionally for a number of years, culminating in a number of appearances in the National Premier League.

“This is now the icing on the cake and a great honour for me.”

Lowery singled out Heslington coach Eddie Johnson for special praise. He said: “He coached me when I was coming through the junior ranks.

“He took me from being an ordinary junior and helped me to go to the next level. It’s taken me a long time to repay him.”

Lowery, who is now based in Cheshire through his job, will make his England debut in Nottingham between May 25 and May 27.