Mark Butcher says he is able to see the logic behind England’s decision to give James Anderson a rest for the upcoming Test series in the West Indies, but cannot understand the selectors’ ‘bizarre’ call to leave Stuart Broad at home.
There were four new faces in England’s 16-man party set to depart for Antigua later this month, with Alex Lees, Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood and Matt Parkinson all in contention to make their Test debuts.
But it was the omission of veteran seamers Anderson and Broad which caught many by surprise as England’s selection panel – of Sir Andrew Strauss, Paul Collingwood and James Taylor – swung the axe in the wake of the side’s dismal Ashes campaign in Australia.
Anderson finished with the best average of all of England’s bowlers Down Under, while Broad ended as the tourists’ second leading wicket-taker (13) behind Mark Wood (17), and both will have been desperate to make an impact in the Caribbean.
‘I can’t [see the logic],’ former England batsman Butcher told the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast.
‘I can certainly see an argument for giving Jimmy the tour off.
‘I think with Stuart, because his performances have been fantastic, unimpeachable for the last year, but probably longer than that.
‘But also from the point of view of what he quite rightly said about trying to win what’s right in front of you, or at least giving yourself the best chance of winning what’s right in front of you, I find it quite bizarre that he didn’t make the trip.’
Butcher was ‘blindsided’ by England’s decision to call up Yorkshire seamer Matthew Fisher for the first time in his career.
‘The replacement for [Broad], Matt Fisher, is an interesting one. I was a bit blindsided by that,’ he added.
‘He has certain attributes that might be of use in Test match cricket. He’s tall, he hits the pitch really hard, he gets in close to the stumps, he’s got a McGrath-like action through the crease. That’s not a comparison but it’s just the way that he operates.
‘He could be someone whose game, while it hasn’t been massively eye-catching at first-class level, could translate into something that will do good things in Test match cricket.
‘But in terms of taking a team which looks on paper like it can win in the West Indies… and let’s face it, this team needs a win. You’re thinking to yourself, “I’d quite like to have had Stuart up my sleeve to play in all three Test matches and to lead what is going to be a relatively inexperienced attack”.
‘England’s most senior bowler in that [squad] is Chris Woakes, and Woakes was anonymous in the Ashes.
‘I’ll hold my hands up, I thought Woakes had turned a corner with the Kookaburra.
‘But although he was unlucky as the tour went a little bit further on, he didn’t dispel any of the issues that people have had with his performances overseas, and that’s a worry. He’s now our main guy on the trip.’
Butcher believes England have missed a trick by snubbing Broad given the tour representing a golden opportunity for the 35-year-old to prove his ‘desire’.
‘The position with James and Stuart is very different to any Strauss has made before, because Broad and Anderson are still the outstanding bowlers in England’s line-up, if you take Mark Wood out of the equation, and Mark Wood will play,’ Butcher went on.
‘As I said before, I can understand the logic of giving Jimmy the trip off. West Indies pitches, where you have to hit the pitch hard, he’d be able to cope with it no problem, but it seems like unnecessary mileage on his clock.
‘Whereas for Stuart, the case for him being there was compelling, to prove that he still has the desire, to prove to everybody else, “Listen, I’m a Test match cricketer, I’m one of the best there’s ever been, and I damn well deserve to be wearing the shirt”.’
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