A strong late showing by Spain, ranked three in the world, meant the England men's hockey team had to settle for a 2-2 draw in their first outdoor contest of this Commonwealth Games year.

Captain Barry Middleton put England a goal up in the 21st minute, finishing off from close range to grab his 32nd England goal in 125 appearances.

England, ranked six in the world, found themselves under intense pressure in the second half and Juan Lainz levelled up three minutes from time.

The England response was immediate. From the restart Barry Middleton drove powerfully forward before splitting the Spain defence with a fantastic through ball to Ashley Jackson, who fired home from an acute angle with just 60 seconds left on the clock.

Spain, however, were not finished and Ed Tubau netted the hosts’ second goal with the final act of the match to secure a 2-2 draw.

The two teams will meet again, also in Cadiz, on Tuesday (26 January) for the second and final game of the series, which is a warm-up for the Hero Honda World Cup. The World Cup runs from 28 February through to the 13 March and is also the test event for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Hockey is one of 17 sports to feature on the programme for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games. Ten men’s and 10 women’s teams will feature in the Commonwealth Games hockey competition, which runs from 4 to 14 October.

Hockey made its Commonwealth Games debut in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998 and England teams have won medals at each of the three Games to feature the sport – although they have never struck gold.

England’s women won silver and the men won bronze in 1998 and the women won silver again four years later in Manchester. The women won bronze in Melbourne four years ago, when England’s men finished fourth, losing the bronze medal match 2-0 to Malaysia.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games take place in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. They will feature 17 sports - archery, aquatics (swimming, synchronised swimming & diving), athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, rugby 7s, shooting, squash, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. With the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Commonwealth Games England is entering a breath-taking four years of sport.

Commonwealth Games England (GCE) is the organisation responsible for selecting and organising England's team at the Commonwealth Games. Team England finished second to Australia on the medal table at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games with 36 golds, 40 silvers and 34 bronzes.

Sport England is a major funder of Team England and its aim is to encourage more people of all ages to start, stay and succeed in sport at every level and to make England the most active and successful sporting nation.