Defending champion Daryl Selby will attempt to retain his title at the British National Squash Championships this week.

Selby won the title in Manchester for the first time in 2011.

The Essex-based player is the third seed and will have to compete against the world's top two, Nick Matthew and James Wilstrop, to retain his title.

He told BBC Essex : "It'll be a tough ask, but I'm playing well and there's no reason why I can't do it."

The 29-year-old starts his title defence against qualifier Nathan Lake in the first round on Tuesday and is seeded to meet Matthew in the semi-finals.

He added: "They are (Matthew and Wilstrop) the world number one and two, so they are being billed as a big final, as it was last year.

"Hopefully I can gatecrash that. It's nice sometimes to be underdog. If I can play as well as I did last year, I'll give myself a shot at winning."

Selby has enjoyed a good start to 2012, reaching the semi-finals in both the Tournament of Champions in New York and the Swedish Open.