The Butcher vs Key Debate

[Zainub]

The number 3 spot is perhaps the only undecided position for England team ahead of the first test at Port Elizabeth which is beleived will be a slow, dry wicket full of runs. Who should England select? Should the keep faith in the 69 test match veteran Buthcer, who is making a comeback into the squad after missing the fag end of the last season due to series of neck and other injuries? Or should they persist with Rob Key, who has literally in one of our members' words answered all questions asked of him since the county season started last summer, scoring a truck load of runs for Kent, and then continuing his good form against West Indies? Former England player and now selector Mike Gatting speaking to the BBC hinted his preference for Butcher, and it was hence no surprise he was named in the eleven for the warm up against SA ahead of Key. Butcher has just been dismissed for 3, which piles on even more pressure on him to score a few runs in the next innings, and makes this rat race for the number 3 test spot all the more interesting. I think its fair to say that the chances are stacked against Butcher's favor here, and he will miss out unless he gets a big score in the next innings.

But the question I have for you, is not who is likely to get selected, but rather who will you want to see play. If you were in an England selector's shoes, who would you select, Mark Alan Butcher Butcher or Robert William Trevor Key , or may be someone else, but most significantly, why?

[Occasional Fan]

About a day too early with this question, Zainub! The reasons for my decision are straightforward enough: it will be based on Key's performance last Tuesday and Butcher's performance tomorrow or Monday (I'm prepared to let him have today's effort for free!). I just can't tell you yet which way I am going. Will vote after Butcher's second innings, which hopefully is the position the selectors are also taking. (I hope they haven't already decided.)

[Scott-Wozniak]

I'ts a tricky question Zainub and I don't think anyone really knows the answer until the Test side is announced later next week. Firstly, I don't think it's down to the selectors now to decide who will play in that No 3 slot, they've done their bit in selecting the Tour players, when England are playing overseas, final selection decisions from the tour squad are in the hands of Fletcher and Vaughan.

Fletcher and Vaughan will now need to decide who they want to play in that No 3 slot in the first Test Match and it's not going to be an easy choice for them to make. On the one hand you have Butcher, a proven performer at the highest level of the game who I don't think anyone would disagree, is somewhat out of form and struggling to make runs. He is a classy batsman, has proven his worth over time, and put in some important knocks in recent times to dig England out of a hole, importantly he's a left hander. On the other you have Robert Key, who's clearly the in-form batsman and played some decent knocks for England during the summer, but the jurys still out on him as a Test batsman and whether he can consistently succeed at the top level of the game.

What Fletcher and Vaughan now need to decide is, is Butcher finished as a Test batsman? Because that may well be what they would be saying if they select Robert Key. If Butcher does get dropped for Key, and Key goes on and continues his good form and makes plenty of runs, it will make it even harder to drop him and bring Butcher back in, they may well be consigning Butcher to the ex-Test batsmen scrapheap if they drop him now and they're mindful of that, and I'm not convinced in my mind that either Fletcher or Vaughan think he's finished as a Test Batsman.

Conventional logic would dictate that the 'in-form' batsman should play, and that would be Key, but as I've said, I think Fletcher and Vaughan are very aware that this may well be Butchers last chance to prove himself and for that reason I think, they'll stick with Butcher, although in my opinion, the in-form batsman should play - and that should be Key.

I'd prefer, like OF, to wait to see how Butcher gets on in the second innings, but I sense that Fletcher wants to perservere with Butcher for the moment and so I don't really think whatever he does in the second innings will make much difference.

[Occasional Fan]

Although I would not argue that Butcher is past it - he shouldn't be at his age, after all - I do accept that, if Key goes out at Port Elizabeth, it might be impossible for Butcher to regain his place during this tour. That's just a result, I think, of having an incredibly tight schedule - five Tests in about six weeks. Realistically, he (and Fletcher and Vaughan) would probably be looking at no more Test cricket until the Bangladesh tour of England in 2005. But if that's what this week's games point to, that's where my vote will go, I'm afraid. There's just no room against South Africa for someone who is demonstrably out of form if there is a guy in the pavilion who is playing well. If Butcher doesn't perform in the second innings - and please don't get me wrong: I really would like to see him do well, sending him out at Port Elizabeth will be no more than a charitable action by Fletcher and Vaughan. Now that's all very well as long as we can expect the South Africans to show a bit of charity as well. Who'd put money on that?

[Scott-Wozniak]

I agree OF, I sense they're perservering with Butcher, almost out of loyalty to him than anything else. If Butcher does play in the first Test and fails and gets replaced by Key in the second that will almost be vindication that they were wrong to have played Butcher in the first one. However, there's always a chance Mark Butcher will silence his 'doubting thomas' critics by playing out of his skin and returning to form, I certinaly hope so. I have no vested interest in either Butcher or Key to be honest, I just want either of them to score some runs.

[Ernest]

I have a lot of time for Butcher Scott, he had guts when he was reselected, but England can't keep selecting him out of loyalty, Test matches are there to be won.
I like yourself am not bothered by the personalities of the two, but I think Mark Butcher has to be on probation.

[Occasional Fan]

A blind leap of faith here from Scyld Berry in The Sunday Telegraph:

Originally Posted by Sunday Telegraph

Butcher, who missed the last four Tests of the summer, was back into the old routine as if he had never been away: wide half-volley, not much footwork, even less forethought (it was only his seventh ball) and an edged drive to the wicketkeeper. But he will no doubt regain his place from Robert Key because he will rise to the occasion on Friday: at least he did so in the West Indies after scoring only one run before the series, compared with nine this time.

How can we tell? It is six months since Butcher played a test match. Can't we wait until the second innings of the current game is over?

Full Sunday Telegraph article here.

Meanwhile, this paragraph from Stephen Brenkley in the Independent on Sunday is just not logical:

Originally Posted by Independent on Sunday

The dismissal that prompted most gossip only seven balls after his entrance was that of Mark Butcher. He came to the crease bristling with intent and looked as though he meant business. Butcher is nobody's fool and is aware that his place in the side is dangling by a fraying rope, for all the well-intended testimonials to his credentials. As soon as he was out, driving a mite ambitiously against the moving ball, another strand came adrift. He will play in the First Test and deserves to.

Not a word to justify that bizarre and premature last sentence. Full Independent on Sunday article here.

These journalists are presumably talking to the tour management. It worries me that an important decision may have been made based on nothing more than blind faith and history. I have not ruled Butcher out or Key in in my own mind and will not conclude until this match is over. To my mind, that is living in the present: why can the tour management not do the same?

And here's a thought: if you were the skipper of South Africa A, would you play for a win over the next two days, or would you aim to bat for as long as you could to deprive the England players of as much batting practice as possible? I think if I were in charge and still batting in mid-afternoon today, I'd tell the lads to dig in for the long haul. Get England's bowlers as tired as possible in 37C temperatures at altitude and give the batsmen no chance to sort out their evident problems.

[Rachael]

I don't have a problem with either article, OF: Butcher's the imcumbent.. he's also the only guy other than Thorpe with serious Test match experience to his name... he's the one guy in the side who seems quite indifferent to "form" when it comes to turning up to be counted... and he's also pretty much the most likely of the top 3 to turn a decent start into a matchwinning innings.

It's that "form is temporary, class is permanent" thing.. which applies even if the class isn't Thorpe / Vaughan class.. and if the form isn't current Flintoff form.

Add in the fact England desperately need the strength in depth of at least one decent player as injury cover... especially with so many back to back Tests coming up.. and the likelihood (therefore) that Key will get to play ANYWAY... and the case for showing faith in an incumbent and keeping the new kid hungry strikes me as absolutely rock solid.

It's not as if Butcher (key man in Sri Lanka and the WI... consistently good since his recall in 2000/01) is a weak link: he's a proven Test performer. It's also not as if Key has the magic of Clarke about him: he's been tried and found wanting in the Test arena once.. and has yet to fully convince that he's even got the technique for this level of the game.

Katich has grounds to complain when left out of the Aussie side.. because he really DOES look good.. and hasn't been doing anything wrong when selected.. but even so... the Aussies are making him wait and letting the incumbent (Lehman) keep his spot. Butcher's got no more to prove than Lehman has to prove.. but Key has a lot more to prove than Katich has to prove: I'd feel sorry for Katich not Key!

[Occasional Fan]

I understand your line of thinking, Rachael - to be honest, I wouldn't have expected you to be saying anything different. I just don't buy the line which says that the selection decision should already have been made. I also accept that Key is very likely to get a game - it will be a miracle if we go through five tests in 39 days without picking up a bruise or two at the top of the order - but that is really not the point as I see it. It's not a game that I want him to get (in fact, I'm not a die-hard Key supporter in the sense that I have a blind-spot as far as his competitors are concerned): I want him to get the right game... by which I really mean that I want to see the right team sent out to win every match. (And I know you and I differ as well on the need to get an early punch in in this series!) If Butcher does well in the second innings (if the South Africans let us have one, that is), you'll not hear me complaining about him playing in the test. You might hear a small bleat if he fails again and still displaces Key, who is the man in form.

Whatever, whoever goes out there on Friday will have my backing. This match has been an age in coming and I can barely wait for it to start. I have the local computer guru coming in today to see why I am having such trouble getting web-streamed radio at the moment: he doesn't leave without giving me a 100% guarantee of uninterrupted TalkSport coverage next week!

[Rachael]

I'm really not too worried about England putting out their best XI players for any one, specific match.. or on caching in on anyone's rich vein of form.. I'm more concerned that England are in aposition to compete over this series and then throughout the next year or two.

Drop Butcher now and it's the the beginning of the end of his involvement. Even if he gets a game in the tour due to soeone picking up an injury.. he'll have lost that "incumbent" potition. If he doesn't.. then when there's an injury next summer (say to Thorpe) Butcher will be deemed "yesterday's man" and the pressure will be on for the selectors to try someone new, like Bell.

Before you know it.. we'll have a top 7 of Tresco, Strauss, Key, Vaughan, Bell and Flintoff.. virtual novices in Test cricket to a man.. and should the form of Key or Flintoff nose-dive.. or the class of Bell prove illusory.. or Tresco finally fall to pieces completely... we'll be back to the likes of Collingwood and Ed Smith and speculating on Pietersen.

Just as with the Aussies and Langer / Katich... it's better to make Key wait, even if he IS the better player, than to gamble the Ashes and the subsequent major tours on being able to do without Butcher.