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Butcher’s tips for England

London: With no match practice at all and the fact that none in the England squad has played first-class cricket in last four months, former England batsman Mark Butcher has warned Kevin Pietersen’s team to be prepared for tricky readjustments to a Test mind-set.

The England team has played only limited-overs matches since the final Test against South Africa, four months ago.

Butcher identified the peculiar difficulties that the lack of practice will cause England.

“In 2001 we played three warm-up games, and we still lost the first Test match. Never mind everything else that has gone on, this is going to be enormously tough for England,” he was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

Butcher, who averaged 43 during England’s three-Test tour of India in 2001, gave some tips to the team so that it could try to get things right in the middle straightway.

“In India the ball does not come on to the bat, you have to be very sure about the bat face, you have to play the ball late.

“Getting your head around that takes more than nets, it takes time in the middle before a batsman can be confident that he has got it right. Batting-wise, it is very difficult to adjust,” he said. — PTI

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