Darts ace Joshua becomes first Northants player to be picked for England

The 24-year-old from Rushden, who is the son of former PDC professional James, had his selection confirmed earlier this month.

And now he is looking forward to playing in three competitions for his country later this year.

Richardson will play in the British Internationals in Merthyr Tydfil between May 20 and 22 before competing in the 6 Nations International Championships in Glasgow between June 16 and 19.

And he will link up with his England team-mates again for the World Darts Federation (WDF) Europe Cup, which is being held in Spain between September 26 and October 2.

Richardson, who plays darts for the county as well as competing in various other competitions across the UK, said: “I played in a qualifier for England selection last year and lost to Connor Scutt but he won a PDC ProTour card and I think that opened the door for me.

“I am really pleased. It’s a huge honour and to be the first from Northants to be selected for England is fantastic.

“I can’t wait to play alongside some fantastic players.”

Richardson, who won the BDO World Youth title in 2016, will be one of 12 new caps across the women’s and men’s England teams, which are selected from players from the England rankings, county rankings, England trial competition winners, a selectors’ choice and a directors’ choice.

James Richardson, meanwhile, is gearing up to play in the WDF World Championships at Lakeside next month.

The competition gets under way on April 2 with ‘Ruthless’ playing his first match against Sebastian Steyer on April 3.