Geoffrey Dean: Butcher came of age during the `A` tour of Australia (02 June 1997)

Monday 2 June 1997

Butcher came of age during the `A` tour of Australia

By Geoffrey Dean

ASK any experienced professional on the county circuit about Mark Butcher, and nearly every response will include the words "good temperament", probably the key ingredient for success as a batsman at Test level.

Butcher has more than that, however. He has all the shots as well as superb technique. "If there is a better English lefthander than Butcher", says Phil DeFreitas, "I haven`t seen him."

Evidently, the selectors have come round to that view after Butcher`s stack of runs last year (1,540 in the Championship at an aver- age of 54) and his productivity on the A tour to Australia last winter.

Ironically, he has been, on his own admission, "out of nick", in cricketing parlance, since his 153 for England A against The Rest in April. But that innings must have made a big impression on the selectors, for he has followed it with only a single firstclass fifty - against Leicestershire 10 days ago.

One of the reasons Butcher was preferred to the in-form Hugh Morris must surely have been the selectors` clear determination this year to give potential a chance. With half an eye to the upcoming tour of the West Indies, Butcher`s fearless ability against genuinely quick bowling must have come into consideration.

Because he seems to have so much time, obviously seeing the ball early, as well as being nimble on his feet, he moves quickly into position and is never fazed by short-pitched bowling.

Sometimes, nevertheless, he can be too compulsive a hooker. Twice in the same match this season, he got out attempting to hook David Lawrence bouncers when the ball was new.

Several years ago in a Surrey Championship match for Cheam, he even got out early to this correspondent with another topedged hook. But those dark days are gone. Try to bounce him out, as the Australians will surely try to do, and he is most unlikely to be tempted.

Durham`s Simon Brown rates him as one of the best left-hand `leavers of a ball` in county cricket.

More than their less fortunate and more orthodox brethren, lefthanders must know the precise location of their off-stump - and Butcher`s sense of geography in this particular respect is second to none.

So, too, in Brown`s opinion, is his temperament. "He plays just the same throughout - whether he is on 30 or past 100."

So much for his major strength against pace. But what about his form against spin? The Durham off-spinner, James Boiling, a good friend and once a teammate at the Oval, has seen him bat "well and not so well" against spin.

"But for Surrey against Australia four years ago, I remember him playing Shane Warne better than anyone," he admits.

There will be no shortage of advice from those close to Butcher. Father Alan was the Surrey stalwart who played once for England, and is now coaching at Essex. Last year, Mark married Alec Stewart`s sister.

Butcher is a patriotic character who cannot stand people playing and talking down English cricket.

"All people do is say English cricket is no good, and county cricket is no good," he complains. "It hurts. The point is that we`ve got some really talented players. We`re just not tested enough."

Butcher believes the A tour was a turning point for him. "Without being big-headed, I`ve always thought I was a good player, but I came back from Australia better than that.

"Against South Australia, I was scoring 20 runs per session and enjoying it. They had a good attack, and the wicket was lively. I was out for 70-odd midway through the last session, when my concentration lapsed, but apart from keeping out Donald, I can`t recall such a sense of achievement.

"It wasn`t a surprise, but it was nice to know I could do it."

A few months later, Butcher, now aged 24, achieved one of his main ambitions when he batted through the whole of a day for the first time against The Rest.

Hopefully, the fact that this match was played at Edgbaston augurs well for his Test debut.

Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/)