Butcher deserves more fanfare

While England were fretting over their perennial problem position during the Ashes, how they could have done with a man fading slowly out the game. Mark Butcher's premature retirement just before his 37th birthday ended the career of a man who England have struggled to replace in the last five years.

Since Butcher's last Test match, in South Africa in 2004, seven number threes* have been tried in 52 Tests. None, however, have come close to matching Butcher's consistent contributions in the most pivotal of positions, as Ravi Bopara's agonising Ashes struggles were the latest reminder of.

At first glance, Butcher's Test average – a shade under 35 – appears distinctly underwhelming. However, he enjoyed not so much one Test career as two. During his first stint in the side, from 1997, he was used primarily as an opener, but, too often loose outside his offstump, Test cricket proved a major step up. Undoubtedly, it could hardly have helped that 23 of his first 27 Tests were against the ferocious fast-bowling attacks of Australia, South Africa and West Indies. Fleetingly, he appeared to be established as Mike Atherton's opening partner, as a priceless, man of the match-winning 116 in the decisive Leeds Test against South Africa was followed only four innings later by the same score at the Gabba. However, his technique disintegrated along with his marriage, and after 22 innings without a 50 he was dropped after the tour to South Africa in 1999/2000, seemingly with little prospect for a return.

But, helped no end by his father-coach Alan, Butcher managed to fight his way back into the side, having managed to alleviate a certain tenseness in his game – apparent in his dwindling strike-rate and his occasionally reckless running. And, after some battling efforts in his new role at number three amidst the wreckage of another Ashes humiliation, Butcher played a magisterial innings to lead England to an extraordinary victory in the Headingley Test of 2001.

Stand-in skipper Adam Gilchrist was lambasted in the press for setting England 315 to win the Test in a little over a day, but the declaration only appears generous through hindsight's lens. Australia, with McGrath and Warne in their prime, had dominated England to the extent that the target exceeded any score they had made in seven innings in the series. At 33/2, a humiliating whitewash appeared inevitable. Yet Butcher unravelled an exquisite array of shots, especially through the offside. He drove with authority and cut with disdain – often employing his characteristic upper-cut – to turn perhaps the greatest Test side of them all into a rabble. His 173*, made at breakneck speed, was arguably behind only innings by Laxman, Lara and Tendulkar in their brilliance against the Australian cricketing superpower at the turn of the millennium. Gilchrist certainly wouldn't have argued, saying “That has to be one of the greatest Ashes Test innings of all time”.

Butcher proved unable to replicate his phenomenal innings – and who could? But, almost as impressively, he was able to achieve a consistency that allowed him to occupy the number three berth for 42 consecutive Tests. Adaptability was a key attribute of his success. When conditions dictated he was capable of playing the aggressor – most notably during that incredible 173*, but also during the 2003 series against South Africa, when seemingly every ball was timed to perfection. He hit a remarkable 68 boundaries in nine innings (amounting to a staggering 67% of his runs) - hampered only by the return of a familiar foe: a penchant for being dismissed by aberrant shots when well set.

However, Butcher was more than capable of playing in the manner of an old-fashioned, attritional number three. On some testing surfaces on the 2004 tour of the Caribbean, he was exceptional, compensating for the failings of England's openers by getting into line, refraining from playing loose shots and being meticulous in his shot selection. And yet, hampered by injuries, he would play only five more Tests (he was never officially dropped), ending his career with a run of 32 innings without reaching even 80 – although this is not to belittle the significance of his hard-earned runs at three. As with another Surrey man, Graham Thorpe, Butcher's Test runs consistently stood out for their importance.

The captaincy of Surrey was an obvious route for such an intelligent mind, though recording victories proved rather more difficult than scoring runs, which Butcher continued to do at an impressive rate. Ultimately, Butcher's 'second career' of 47 Tests yielded the impressive average of 41. Curiously for a man who could counter-attack with relish, Butcher easily holds the record for the most Tests played without appearing in a one-day international (since the introduction of ODIs). Perhaps the selectors felt his style was too orthodox, as also proved the case with Michael Vaughan, and his domestic one-day average of 31 was distinctly mediocre.

The sight of Butcher thumping a ball through the offside, often idiosyncratically down on one knee, was one for Englishmen to cherish. Anyone who saw his two brilliant Headingley Test hundreds would attest to this.

* Michael Vaughan, Ian Bell, Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah, Andrew Strauss and Rob Key – plus three nightwatchmen

2008 Season Review: Surrey

Final placings:
Championship Division One - 9th;
FP Trophy - 4th, South-eastern Conference;
Twenty20 Cup – 6th, South Division;
Pro40 Division Two - 5th

Amidst the fallout following one of the worst seasons in Surrey’s history and all the psychobabble, the fairest summation of the club’s state came, perhaps surprisingly, from skipper Mark Butcher. He said simply “it is probably a year overdue for us”.

Surrey finished fourth last year – and, given that they were as good as anyone in the second half of the season, notions of a title challenge did not seem so fanciful. But of course they were. For their resurgent end to the 2007 season owed an extraordinary amount to the brilliance of Mark Ramprakash and Harbhajan Singh. Patently, gaping problems remained within the side. Just no one seemed willing to recognise them. Surrey had this awful season coming to them, with the lessons of last season and their ’05 relegation unlearnt. Essentially, the side who won eight trophies between 1996 and 2003 have just kept getting older, with young players lacking in ability, attitude, or both.

Taking 20 wickets: mission impossible
The most fundamental problem with this side was their hopelessly ineffective bowling attack. Failing to take twenty wickets in any of their 15 games is the most damning of statistics. New signing Pedro Collins was too inconsistent; Chris Jordan likewise as he suffered from second-season syndrome. James Ormond began the season leaner and with renewed nip. But the awarding of a new contract on the back of a few encouraging weeks is a further indictment of the whole Surrey set-up: what sort of message does it send that 13 first-class wickets at 43 are sufficient for a new deal?

Hopelessly bereft of penetration, Surrey succeeded in embarrassing themselves further with the disastrous locum recruit of Shoaib Akhtar. But they were doomed when he arrived. A bigger reason for their relegation was the utter ineffectuality of overseas bowler Matt Nicholson. Though he has retired from Australian state cricket, Surrey, in their desperation, signed him up. But 11 wickets at 57 from nine championship games is an appalling return for an ‘overseas star’, for all his admirable batting.

Star winter signing Saqlain Mushtaq began encouragingly; but, like so many of the ‘golden generation’, his best years have gone. In truth, he did better than expected to finish with 38 championship wickets (11 more than the next best) but failed to provide the late-season inspiration Harbhajan had delivered a year previously. Unfortunately, Chris Schofield’s season was decimated through injury, one mitigating circumstance in the atrocious Twenty20 Cup campaign. Once masters of the game, Surrey lacked regular six-hitters and canny bowlers alike. Their near-complete reliance on locum Abdul Razzaq for inspiration was embarrassing.

A lack of leadership
Butcher’s injury woes, coming just after a return to the opening position and a superlative run of form, evoked ‘Four More Weeks’, Ramprakash’s 2005 diary named after Butcher’s pronouncements whenever asked about the date of his comeback.

Surrey had made a reasonable enough start to the campaign, drawing their first five games, with their batting unit looking better than for several seasons. Butcher’s injury severely weakened that, while Ramprakash struggled as captain – immersed in his quest to reach his 100th century, and frustrated with such an impotent bowling attack. Alan Butcher has correctly been removed as coach; his son will probably lose his job likewise, provided that a satisfactory replacement can be found. Indicative of the lack of forward thinking at The Oval, any new skipper would have to be recruited externally.

Batting buckling under pressure
Surrey actually claimed more batting points than at least five sides in Division One – although this is a somewhat deceptive statistic, given their penchant for collapsing brainlessly under pressure. The most pathetic such instance was in the crucial game against Kent. Cruising at 53/0 in their second innings, with an overall lead of 177, they somehow conspired to lose their last ten wickets on a sunny day and a docile track for 80, with the very occasional spin of Martin van Jaarsveld claiming his first ever five-wicket haul.

There seems a collective failure to score runs under pressure, Ramprakash excepted. Scott Newman at least managed two hundreds, while Usman Afzaal’s average of 45 was hard to argue with, but Jon Batty had his worst season for several years and had to be moved down from opener. The collective efforts of the next generation – Stewart Walters, Chris Murtagh and James Benning – were woeful, though at least Matt Spriegel showed a certain amount of resilience.

Any signs of hope?
Surrey’s one-day exploits were slightly more encouraging than their County Championship and Twenty20 efforts, thanks largely to Jade Dernbach. A true wicket-taker, the seamer claimed 23 scalps in the eight Pro40 games thanks to movement and aggression. Add in a Championship six-wicket haul and he was the nearest to a ‘positive’ from the calamitous season.

It is axiomatic that Surrey are a club in need of big changes, with the appointment of Graham Thorpe as batting coach appearing a shrewd start. But years of muddled thinking and short-termism will not be easy to rectify, especially with so many serial under-performers still contracted.

Player of the season:
Ask a stupid question. The gap between his 99th and 100th first-class centuries – the result of age-old mental frailties, say his critics; a broken bat, says the man himself – may have been agonising, but either side Mark Ramprakash was as good as the ’06 and ’07 player who averaged 100. Six hundreds in Division One, in the weakest side, by far: tremendous by any criteria.

Most disappointing player:
Where to start? Shoaib Akhtar would be an obvious candidate, but it would be unfair to scapegoat a man who played only two games. While a plethora of ‘promising youngsters’ flattered to deceive, the experienced West Indian left-armer Pedro Collins singularly failed to impress. Too wayward, too often.

Highlight: Off-field finances have never been better; the story was rather less satisfactory on the pitch. The Butcher-Nicholson double-century stand against Yorkshire was perhaps as good as it got. Butcher’s stroke-play was spectacular, better than at any point since his England days – but he was injured almost immediately afterwards.

Lowlight: No shortage of options, clearly. But two consecutive home innings defeat constituted an aptly pathetic end to a season in which Surrey were perhaps the worst county in the country.

How can Surrey end their slump? Share your views by leaving a comment below.

If you're interested in writing a season review for your county (whether or not you contributed to our season prevuews), or writing on anything cricket-related please leave a comment or email it to cricketingworld@hotmail.com.

Championship Review - Week 6

Away from the excitement of the Test at Old Trafford, in Division 1, the Champions beat the league leaders while in Division 2, Middlesex and Essex hung on for what could be vital draws. And Ramps is still waiting for his 100th hundred…

Division 1
Starting with the leaders, Nottinghamshire had Sussex in all sorts of trouble at 74 for 6 until Matt Prior and Robin Martin-Jenkins put on 142 for the 7th wicket, Prior ending up with 131. Notts scored 251 in reply and with Sussex getting 259 in their second innings, Prior again top scoring, Notts needed 286 to win. With Corey Collymore taking four wickets for the second time in the match, Sussex won by 73 runs as Notts made 212. Notts have had a flying start to the season, Sussex have had a poor start to the season. However, there are now just six points between them as the table closes up again.

Ryan McLaren took 5 for 31 as Kent bowled Somerset out for just 202. Kent then made 273, with Martin van Jaarsveld hitting 95. A Marcus Trescothick century brought Somerset back into the game, and their score of 335 meant that Kent were chasing 270 to win. Joe Denly hit 149, but the Kent effort finished 20 runs short and Somerset record their first win of the season to move 4th with a game in hand on all of those above them.

Bizarrely, one of the teams above Somerset, Surrey, are still to register a win, although their strong batting line-up means that there are bonus points a-plenty. The game against Yorkshire was no different as Surrey declared on 466 for 8, with Mark Butcher scoring 205 and Matt Nicholson 133, the pair of them putting on 231 for the 6th wicket. Mark Ramprakash managed just 29 with 14 in the 2nd innings meaning that he remains on 99 centuries. In reply Jacques Rudolph (121) and Andrew Gale (150) also had a stand of over 200 as Yorkshire racked up 525, thanks also to an unbeaten 84 from Tim Bresnan. Losing three wickets before making up the deficit, Surrey were wobbling. However, Yorkshire were a bowler light due to injury to Rana Naved (Yorkshire’s 5th pace bowler to be injured this season along with Gough, Hoggard, Shahzad and Morkel) and an Usman Afzaal century saw Surrey to safety, closing on 299 for 6.

Division 2
Northamptonshire batted first at Glamorgan an scored an impressive 531 for 8 with Niall O’Brien and David Sales both scoring hundreds, Sales getting 173 of just 151 balls. In reply, Jamie Dalrymple offered solid resistance, with 82 off 212 balls, but the Welshmen were bowled out for 278, well short of the follow-on target. They batted even more poorly second time round, making just 154 for Northants to run out winners by an innings and 99 runs.

Glamorgan feels the South African heat in Swansea.

Northants Nicky Boje and Johann Louw above.

Forever Swansea. Glamorgan's display versus Northants spoilt their annual visit to the old St Helens ground, a fans favourite (Pics c/o RTE).

My pre-season favourites, Middlesex, have started poorly and managed just 297 at Warwickshire, with Darren Maddy picking up four wickets. In reply, the Bears made 438, with Tony Frost top scoring on 90, putting on 152 for the 5th wicket with Ant Botha. Starting their second innings 141 behind, Billy Godleman hit 87 while Eoin Morgan and Shaun Udal had made an unbeaten stand of 117 as Middlesex finished on 335 for 7 and a draw.

The most exciting finish of the week was at Chelmsford where David Masters took 6 for 24 as Leicestershire made just 159, Paul Nixon and Jacques du Toit putting on 86 of these for the 6th wicket. However, Essex did little better, Nadeem Malik taking 6 for 46 as they made 164 for a lead of five runs. In a complete turnaround, the Foxes then made 449 second time round, with HD Ackerman getting a ton and Paul Nixon unbeaten on 92, despite Ryan ten Doeschate taking 5-fer. Needing 445 to win, Essex were always struggling but hung on for a draw thanks to a gutsy lower order resistance, mainly from James Foster scoring 88 from 212 balls, but also Masters scoring just 5 from 87 deliveries, and Tony Palladino with 2 from 53 deliveries.

England Player Watch
Ravi Bopara followed a golden duck with 87 for Essex as the pressure builds on the out of form Paul Collingwood, while his main contender for the next batting place, Owais Shah made 36 and 50 for Middlesex. Joe Denly also started with a golden duck for Kent, but followed it with 149, while Rob Key got two starts with 48 and 26. However, change at the top of the England batting line-up seems unlikely.

Matt Prior kept up his stellar start to the season with a century and a fifty in Sussex’s win, and should be in consideration for a specialist batsman’s role as well as putting pressure on Tim Ambrose. Also keeping up the pressure on Ambrose is Chris Read, who scored a fifty for Notts in the same match and James Foster, whose 88 saved Essex from defeat.

Bowling wise, Tim Bresnan took four wickets on a batsman friendly track, while his good form with the bat continues. However, the more likely next bowlers in line for England, Chris Tremlett and Graeme Onions both had the week off.

Player of the week
Mentions to Mark Butcher for his double century, David Sales for his brutal attack on Glamorgan and David Masters for six wickets and surviving 87 deliveries as Essex saved the game against Leicestershire. However, the player of the week is the second wicket-keeper of the season to win the award. No other Sussex batsman made a fifty, while he got a ton and a fifty as Notts were defeated, the Player of the Week is Matt Prior.

2007 Season Preview: Surrey

2006 in a Nutshell:
Surrey’s chief objective in 2006 was to return to Division One of the County Championship. In that, they succeeded magnificently. Led by the Butcher father-son coaching side, Surrey were a united side once more and, in Mark Ramprakash, had a fantastic batsman in the form of his life. Though Surrey’s first-class form was peerless, their one-day side showed few signs of improvement, subsiding meekly on Twenty20 finals day and doing little of note in the other two competitions. Overall, 2006 was a big step in the right direction.
See the Surrey 2006 Season Review

2007 Prospects
Batting:
Surrey have perhaps the finest first-class batting unit in county cricket; although the bowling in Division One will be more challenging this campaign, they should regularly post scores in excess of 400 in the first innings.

Scott Newman is a fine, burly left-handed stroke maker, but has rather trodden water in the last few campaigns. Last season, he hit 10 Championship scores of 50 but reached only one century. Opening alongside him will be the ever-dependable Jon Batty, mentioned in dispatches as the next England wicket keeper. Surrey’s real strength, though, is at numbers three and four; where former England batsmen Ramprakash and Mark Butcher hit 13 first-class hundreds last campaign. Ramprakash, with his unerring professionalism, exemplary technique and aesthetically pleasing stroke-play, remains the most sought-after wicket on the circuit.

Alistair Brown will continue to attack tiring bowling line-ups in his fearless style, while his heir apparent James Benning will seek to transfer his exhilarating one-day form into the Championship arena, though opportunities will be limited. Rikki Clarke is becoming a very fine batsman, particularly in the four-day game – he averaged 64 last season – while Azhar Mahmood can transform games from number seven. Also look out for the exciting young batting all-rounder Stewart Walters, particularly in the shorter versions of the game. Stolid opener Richard Clinton may feature in first-class cricket.

Bowling:
Spin emerged unexpectedly to the fore last campaign, with Surrey even fielding three spinners at times. Ian Salisbury and Nayan Doshi, bowling leg-spin and left-arm spin, both took at least 50 Championship wickets at 28, benefiting from the spin- conducive Oval rack. Chris Schofield was also awarded a late-season contract and, though his leg-spin remains inconsistent, he did enough to secure a new deal, aided by his useful, if idiosyncratic, batting.

However, seam bowling remains a huge worry, especially with the brilliant Martin Bicknell having retired. Much depends on the returning James Ormond, injured for almost all of last season. He is joined by the Australian Matt Nicholson, who has much experience but averaged only 32 for Northants last season. Surrey fans would have hoped for a more penetrating opening bowler. Pakistani duo Mohammad Akram and all-rounder Mahmood remain horribly unreliable, while Rikki Clarke’s bowling has potential – he can hit 85mph – but only accounted for 18 Championship wickets last campaign. Unless he can improve his bowling significantly, it is hard to envisage him returning to the England side; and, at 25, the time has come for performance to replace potential. With young quick Neil Saker also yet to convince, the fast bowling is patently a major Surrey weakness; if the spinners are unable to match their exploits of ’06, Surrey may have real difficulty collecting 20 wickets.

Probable Championship side:
Newman
Batty
Ramprakash
Butcher
Brown
Clarke
Mahmood
Nicholson
Salisbury
Ormond
Doshi

which leaves Clinton, Benning, Schofield and Akram - who may replace one of the spinners in seaming conditions - in reserve. Benning will replace Newman, or one of the senior batsmen, in the shorter versions of the game.

Overall the side looks good enough to achieve a comfortable Championship position. It perhaps lacks the necessary penetration to mount a genuine title push, unless Ormond, Nicholson and one of the spinners really catch fire, but the batting looks sufficiently strong and deep to allay relegation concerns.

Key Man:
Runs from Ramps are rather taken as a given so, with Surrey’s seam attack such a worry, the onus will fall on the returning Jimmy Ormond. Ormond has had near-constant injury worries of late but he is a tall swing bowler of proven class with over 400 first-class wickets, and two Test caps, to his name. At 29, he is far from over the hill; a reinvigorated Ormond would provide the fast bowling attack with much-needed penetration.

Rising Star:
Alistair Brown’s career is coming to an end but, in 23-year-old James Benning, Surrey have a ready-made replacement. As England’s one-day side stumbled from one humiliation to the next last summer, Benning, on the back of his exhilarating 189* in the C & G Trophy, was mentioned as a potential opener. In the shorter versions of the game, he is rapidly gaining in consistency and reputation. Despite an average of 37, however, he has yet to become a regular in the first-class game.

Captain and Coach:
Having moved away from the disastrous Steve Rixon era, Surrey entrusted their fortunes in the Butchers. They have succeeded in lifting spirits at The Oval, establishing an atmosphere more conducive to success. Thoughts now turn to Championship consolidation, a renewed tilt at the Twenty20 and some sort of improvement in their one-day fortunes.

2007 county previews home

Signs of a Surrey resurgence

2006 Season Review: Surrey

Last season, Surrey subsided pathetically in the County Championship, and suffered the embarrassing fate of relegation. The 2006 season, therefore, was fundamentally about being one of the two sides promoted from Division Two. In that task, Surrey succeeded magnificently.

The chief reason for this, clearly, was Mark Ramprakash. The 37-year-old enjoyed the season of his career; his textbook technique and ever eye-catching fluency earned 2278 runs at a superlative average of 103. Eight hundreds were amassed with ever-increasing inevitability. Despite falling eight runs short of a maiden triple century against Gloucestershire, Ramprakash soon ended his wait with 301* against Northants. The only shame was that his phenomenal season was not rewarded with a place on the Ashes tour.

Though Ramprakash’s sensational run of scores rightly stole the media attention, the father-son pair of Alan and Mark Butcher were crucial in righting the wrongs of the Steve Rixon era and setting the county back onto the right path. Butcher senior was a calm and supportive presence in the dressing room; Mark averaged almost 60 while skippering the side shrewdly.

Surrey’s fantastic batting talent was always likely to overwhelm Division Two bowling attacks. Rikki Clarke had by far his best campaign with the bat, averaging 64; but his bowling continues to infuriate and his meagre haul of 18 wickets in 11 games showed he is not even a genuine fourth seamer.

Alistair Brown was dropped early on in the season but, happily, turned his fortunes around to finish with five first-class centuries; Scott Newman was extremely consistent opening the batting. James Benning, meanwhile, enjoyed a highly encouraging season. His rampaging 189* in a C & G Trophy game even had pundits considering him a viable candidate to open the batting for England in one-day cricket. And the ever-reliable John Batty had another fine season.

Surrey’s batting was expected to prove decisive in their hunt for promotion; their band of spinners was certainly not. Nayan Doshi and Ian Salisbury took 113 wickets at 28 between them; the rehabilitation of Salisbury, seemingly in irreversible decline, was particularly gratifying. Anil Kumble came for only three games, but his 8-100 on a docile Oval pitch against Northants virtually secured promotion. The trio formed Surrey’s first spin triumvirate for nearly 50 years; they were such a success that, when Kumble left, Chris Schofield was recruited on a short-term deal. Though his control is in need of much work, the former England bowler deserved his new contract, especially given his innings of 95 in a thrilling draw at Bristol.

However, pace bowling remains a cause of much concern at the county. Evergreen Martin Bicknell played in just four games before retiring through injury; his 1000+ wickets at 23 make him one of Surrey’s finest ever players. Replacing him will certainly prove problematic, however. With Jimmy Ormond, the club’s best seamer, also hampered by injury, the pace-bowling attack was carried by Mohammad Akram and enigmatic all-rounder Azhar Mahmood.

Even more than usual, the County Championship was the key for Surrey in 2006. Predictably, results in the game’s shorter formats were disappointing. Their C & G campaign seemed doomed from the outset; an inexcusable batting collapse at Taunton cost them promotion in the Pro40 competition. Things were a little better in the Twenty20 Cup, but a woeful performance on Finals’ Day cost them the chance of claiming a second trophy. Surrey seem to lack a cohesive strategy in the shorter formats of the game; they are also let down by a lack of mobility in the field.

Despite their one-day disappointments, Surrey’s 2006 season hinted at a resurgence for the club; if they can sign a potent seamer, they certainly have a good chance of regaining the County Championship. With the Butchers at the helm, Surrey are a happier county and a stronger side.

Player of the season: Mark Ramprakash
Majestic strokeplay, unerring professionalism and new-found perspective saw Ramprakash become only the fifth man to complete a First Class English season averaging 100 or more. Throughout July and August he scored 150 runs or more in five consecutive Championship games – a unique achievement.

High
Successfully chasing 356, the highest score of the game, in the fourth innings at Somerset, despite being 129-4. A blistering 189-run stand between Clarke and Brown helped Surrey triumph in just the 72nd over.

Low
Bizarrely conspiring to lose four wickets in the first four overs of the Twenty20 semi-final, when Surrey had been odds-on to win.

In the build-up to the 2007 county season, we will feature county reviews for last season, previews for this and other features. Do email cricketingworld@hotmail.com if you would like to pen a piece on your county (or anything else).

Who will replace Stresscothick?

My worst fears regarding Marcus Trescothick have been realised. His play all summer-long had been unconvincing; and, it touched the confines of lunacy to suggest he would be fully recovered for an Ashes tour despite not being able to participate in the ICC Champions Trophy a month earlier. So it now seems increasingly likely that Trescothick’s final international appearance will be a first-ball dismissal against Pakistan in a one-dayer. He has had a fine career that included 26 international hundreds – although just a solitary one, in a ODI at Headingly last summer, against the best team in the world.

But, although his excellence is beyond doubt, he seldom thrived against Australia, who frequently exposed his notorious lack of footwork. Though the loss of his experience is a blow, it allows Alistair Cook to move up to his natural position as opener; Paul Collingwood is a gutsy cricketer who should do ok at number five. Trescothick’s withdrawal then, does not weaken England greatly.

Clearly, a replacement is imperative, and will be announced within the next day or so. Robert Key appears to be a front-runner. He is a man who, it seems to be universally acknowledged, showed character and earned the respect of the Aussies in 2002/03 – all this while averaging just 18. Key is a good batsman, but ultimately too prone to careless dismissals; and he only averaged in the mid-30s for Kent last season. If he is selected, it will add to the feelings of some that Andrew Flintoff is rather keen to include his mates in the side.

Owais Shah averaged little better than Key last season. But his class as a batsman is beyond doubt; the ease with which he took to Test cricket in India last winter – scoring 88 and 38 and having the nerve to charge Harbhajan Singh on numerous occasions - certainly merits another opportunity. His county teammate Ed Joyce also has a case for selection, though he has not yet shown he can thrive at international level.

Trescothick’s absence means Andrew Strauss is now the side’s most experienced batsman. The chances of a Vaughan welcome sometime this series have increased, but he will palpably not be ready to play until the 4th Test.

The amiable Mark Butcher has a very good chance of selection; he has scored three Test hundreds against Australia, two of them down under. His form for Surrey was most encouraging last season, while he was only dropped from the England set-up due to injury. Indeed, in his second incarnation as a Test cricketer, from 2001, Butcher’s grit and sweet offside play resulted in an average of 41.

But, if you are going to pick someone on their performances in the last domestic season, it is hard to look beyond Mark Ramprakash; persuading him to leave Strictly Come Dancing for an Ashes tour should not prove too problematic. People will point to his Test record and age as evidence of why he shouldn’t go. But, at this stage of his career, he really would have nothing to lose; equally, this most classical of batsmen remains an impressive fielder (certainly superior to Messrs Shah and Key.)

Ramprakash’s technique has already earned him success against Australia, at home and away – he averages 42 in 12 Tests against them. Having averaged in excess of 100 for Surrey last season, thanks to a series of gargantuan hundreds and his unrelenting professionalism, Ramprakash is in the form of his life, while his character, once a problem, has mellowed considerably. He could slot in seamlessly to number three, filling the void of a classy, attractive and experienced batsman who has excelled in Australia before. Whether Duncan Fletcher is prepared to sanction such a controversial selection, however, remains to be seen.

Tagged with: Marcus Trescothick, Mark Ramprakash, Mark Butcher