Meet the Brits who are top of the world with their noses pressed against the window of London 2012

By Oliver Porritt, Sportsbeat

THERE they are, the number one and two in the world. They’ve been waiting for this event for four long years. 

FORGOTTEN STARS: England's James Willstrop and Nick Matthew are ranked number one and two in the world squash rankings but it's Olympic recognition the sport is wishing for this Christmas (Reuters)

So much has happened in between but this time billions of people around the world will be watching every second. 

The atmosphere gives these two Englishmen goosebumps; that's never happened before. 

Both Nick and James become acutely aware of the tension building in the crowd, and now the start is only a few heartbeats away. 

The stadium announcer has already introduced the competitors and, in the blink of an eye, it's underway. 

Usain Bolt streaks away from the field, while the world's two best squash players look on, sat with the other spectators at the London 2012 100m final, wondering whether their sport will ever get an invite to the party.

When the Olympics arrives in London next year, one of the host nation’s most successful sports will be missing from the schedule.

England currently boasts the world’s top two players in the men’s game, James Willstrop and Nick Matthew. And when the new rankings are released on New Year’s Day, Willstrop will replace Matthew, who has been number one for the whole of 2011.

But it is not just England’s men who are dominating at the moment, as the world’s second and third best women are Jenny Duncalf and Laura Massaro.

This is an extraordinary achievement, which will almost certainly go largely unnoticed at this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.

It is not as though squash hasn’t been trying to earn Olympic recognition. The sport was shortlisted for inclusion for both the 2012 and 2016 Games but narrowly missed out on both occasions, with lacklustre lobbying of the highly-politicised IOC electorate not aiding their cause.

Golf and rugby sevens were added for Rio 2016, the glorious prospect of a pre-scandal Tiger Woods climbing on to the podium swaying the International Olympic Committee's members - although the addition of two cash-rich sports wouldn’t have harmed their campaigns either.

For 2020, squash will try once more alongside baseball, softball, rock climbing, wushu, rollersports, wakeboarding and karate - and they’ve recruited Mike Lee, the PR mastermind behind London, Rio and Pyeongchang’s recent Olympic successes, Qatar's controversial World Cup campaign and rugby sevens bid for Games acceptance, to give them the inside track.

Squash has been told it is too hard to follow, both in terms of the rules and the ball, meaning a new simpler scoring system and much improved television coverage is now being trialled.

HIGH-FLYING: Malaysia's Nicol David may dominate women's squash but England's Jenny Duncalf, left, is the best of the rest (Reuters)

And there is no argument that the sport is not universally followed, major drawbacks for those competing against them. According to the World Squash Federation, it is the only candidate which can claim world champions, both men and women, from all five IOC-recognised continents.

So what would an Olympic gold mean for players of a game which, according to Forbes magazine is the world’s healthiest sport, and what do its governing bodies need to do differently this time round?

“Olympic gold would definitely be the pinnacle for any squash player,” said Peter Barker, the current world number seven.

“But the same can’t be said for a number of sports currently in the Games.

We are not afraid of making changes, we look forward to innovate and we look forward to change the game to suit the Olympic needs." WSF president N Ramachandran talks with Sportsbeat's Marina Izidro last month

“Do the competitors in golf, football and tennis want an Olympic gold over a major, grand slam or World Cup? 

“Of course not, and the public know this so their interest wanes because of it.”

Tennis re-entered the Games in 1984, table tennis was added four years later and badminton first saw action in 1992 and, on the surface, squash would seem to have an equal claim.

But according to former world number one, world champion and four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Peter Nicol, it was a question of timing.

He said: “Squash was too late to the table with lobbying for a place at the Olympics.

“This meant we arrived when the International Olympic Committee was trying to reduce costs for host cities and maintain or lower the number of sports involved.”

For Tim Garner, tour manager of the soon-to-be launched Women’s Squash Association, agrees the sport failed to strike while the iron was hot.

He said: “Squash played the game very badly in the eighties when the Olympics was expanding its raft of sports.

“It was not pro-active enough at the time to show why it should be included but they are putting together a very good campaign this time around," he said.

“In Mike Lee and Vero Communications they have a very professional outfit that have masterminded successful bids for Rio to host in 2016 and rugby sevens to feature at those games.”

Barker lays the blame at the door of the WSF and wants to see the Professional Squash Association and WSA lead the charge.

“The WSF have been given so many chances but have so far have failed on this front.

The World Squash Federation have been given so many chances (to gain Olympic inclusion) but have failed on this front." World squash number seven Peter Barker

“The PSA and WSA are the bodies who are pushing the boundaries of the sport and they should have the responsibility for getting squash into the Olympics.”

Garner sees Olympic inclusion as the catalyst to get the sport in every front room across the world.

“It will benefit the sport through the fact that terrestrial networks in countries like the UK will immediately cover it. But crucially it will become a focus sport in untapped markets such as China," he adds.

For Nicol there are many sports which believe they are deserving of a place, so squash has to set itself apart.

“We have to show why we are more deserving and find a strategy which is different to the last couple of campaigns,” he added.

“I think concentrating on making the general atmosphere around the game worldwide positive and vibrant is more important than just focussing on Games inclusion.”

Squash will have to wait until the IOC’s annual session in Buenos Aires in 2013 to find out the next chapter in its story - a meeting that will also see the 2020 hosts elected and a new IOC president installed.

If successful, the Games will most likely come too late for 28-year-old Barker but he simply wants the sport to get the worldwide profile it deserves.

“As players we don’t want financial recognition, just Olympic recognition," he said.

© Sportsbeat 2011