I'm still ready for England

He made a name for himself on a reality show this winter after plundering more than a thousand runs for Surrey last summer, helping them surge back into the top flight. He still harbours ambitions to play for England - and if the call comes he will be ready. He concedes, though, that such a course of action is unlikely. He is Mark Butcher.

"The word 'ex' has been put in front of my name a lot more recently," he admits. "I still say that if selected I can do a good job for them. I will be preparing myself as if I will be playing the next Test match." However, he admits that to break back into the England set-up would now take "something miraculous" after injuries curtailed his international career and Alastair Cook and Ian Bell began to cement their places.

Instead, he will focus on captaining Surrey, whose absolute dominance of the second division last year has left many expecting that they could be contenders for the ultimate domestic prize. And if the England selectors continue, as expected, to ignore Butcher, Mark Ramprakash and Rikki Clarke among others then that, of course, could work very well in Surrey's favour.

The side thrived last year on batting teams out of the game, and in the off-season they have bolstered their bowling attack. "We can play four frontline quick bowlers and two spinners on virtually every surface. On paper, we should have every angle covered."

Steve Magoffin will fill in early ahead of Matthew Nicholson, a fellow Australian state pace bowler, with Nicholson's arrival delayed by the premature birth of twin sons. Magoffin is expected to be required until mid-May.

Butcher is delighted with Nicholson's impending arrival, not least because he knows the damage he can do. "He's responsible for these stitches over my right eye," he says, pointing out the L-shaped scar he picked up in 1998, in an England warm-up game against Western Australia. "He's a great signing!" he laughs, but he means it, too. "He's a great athlete, very strong. Knows which end of the bat to hold."

And he says that Jimmy Ormond's return to fitness is like a new signing in itself. "It's wonderful to have him back."

The spin department is pretty impressive: the veteran Ian Salisbury who came back last year when many had written him off; the improving Nayan Doshi and the reformed tearaway Chris Schofield. "Chris has been impressive. He knows he's got a second chance and he's worked very hard."

Working hard is something that comes naturally to Butcher in whichever realm he's applying himself. Over the winter he applied his guitar-playing talents, partnering Sarah Brightman in Just the Two of Us, a reality TV programme and while he may not have won as many headlines as Ramprakash did for his dancing, he enjoyed the experience - even if he won't be rushing for a career on the smallscreen.

"It was good fun - slightly bonkers. Telly's a bit weird, telly's pretend." But what nobody's pretending is that Surrey have serious ambitions this summer - and with Butcher and his dad Alan at the helm, it seems anything's possible. He sends out this ominous message: "Surrey are up and firing for silverware."