Mark Butcher
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 England (ENG) |
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| Batting style | Left-hand bat | |
| Bowling type | Right-arm medium | |
| Tests | First-class | |
| Matches | 71 | 267 |
| Runs scored | 4288 | 17016 |
| Batting average | 34.58 | 40.41 |
| 100s/50s | 8/23 | 36/92 |
| Top score | 173* | 259 |
| Balls bowled | 901 | 7703 |
| Wickets | 15 | 125 |
| Bowling average | 36.06 | 33.89 |
| 5 wickets in innings | - | 1 |
| 10 wickets in match | - | - |
| Best bowling | 4/42 | 5/86 |
| Catches/stumpings | 61/- | 249/- |
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Test debut: 5 June 1997 |
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Mark Alan Butcher (born Croydon, Surrey, 23 August 1972) is an English cricketer, a former international player who continues to play county cricket for Surrey whom he captains. He is a left-handed batsman, and an occasional right-arm medium-pace bowler.
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[edit] Cricket Career
Butcher has played all his county cricket for Surrey, for whom he made his first-class debut in 1992. He made his Test match debut in the first Test of the 1997 Ashes series at Edgbaston. What was probably his last Test was in December, 2004, when he had played 71 Tests, making eight centuries and averaging over 34. Butcher has captained England once, in a draw with New Zealand in 1999 when Nasser Hussain was injured. Unusually for such an experienced Test player, Butcher has never appeared in a One Day International; no current player has played more Tests without a one day appearance.
Butcher enjoyed a good start to his career, hitting two half-centuries in five matches against an excellent Australian side. He then struggled (along with the rest of the England side) against the West Indies that winter. However, in the next series, he did well, scoring two fifties and a century against a strong South African side. Though he followed that with a hundred against Australia in the first Ashes Test that winter, he then failed for the rest of that series. A miserable run followed, as he failed to score a half-century in twelve consecutive matches. Despite being appointed stand-in captain for one Test against New Zealand, he was dropped from the side in the winter of 2000.
Butcher's domestic form then suffered a dramatic decline, and he found himself languishing in the Surrey Second Eleven at the start of the 2001 domestic season. However, some work with his father, Alan, sorted out his form. He came back into prominence with an excellent innings in the Benson and Hedges Trophy semi-final, and was drafted into the Test side to play the Australians in the first Ashes Test, once again at Edgbaston. Strong showings throughout that series culminated in a fine 173 not out at Leeds, as England successfully chased 315 to win.
After that series, Butcher continued to prosper until a run of injuries saw him lose his place. Consistent performances had made him an important component of the England batting line-up, to be relied upon in a crisis. Nowhere was this more apparent than in two series abroad, in Sri Lanka and the West Indies, when he batted well, irrespective of the sometimes poor showing at the other end. A series of injuries kept Butcher out of the game for much of 2005, and his last Test was the first Test in South Africa in December 2004.
[edit] Test Centuries
| Test Centuries of Mark Butcher | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs | Match | Against | City/Country | Venue | Year | |
| [1] | 116 | 13 | South Africa | Leeds, England | Headingley | 1998 |
| [2] | 116 | 15 | Australia | Brisbane, Australia | Brisbane Cricket Ground | 1998 |
| [3] | 173* | 31 | Australia | Leeds, England | Headingley | 2001 |
| [4] | 105 | 39 | Sri Lanka | London, England | Lord's | 2002 |
| [5] | 123 | 41 | Sri Lanka | Manchester, England | Old Trafford | 2002 |
| [6] | 124 | 50 | Australia | Sydney, Australia | Sydney Cricket Ground | 2003 |
| [7] | 137 | 51 | Zimbabwe | London, England | Lord's | 2003 |
| [8] | 106 | 55 | South Africa | Nottingham, England | Trent Bridge | 2003 |
[edit] Music Career
Butcher is also a guitar-player and singer - he sang a ballad at Surrey and England team-mate Ben Hollioake's funeral. In early 2008 he started recording his debut album, which will include "You're Never Gone", the song he wrote in tribute to Hollioake. The album is due for release in Autumn 2008.
[edit] Personal Life
Butcher attended Cumnor House Prep School[1], Trinity School and Tenison's School in Croydon, and supports the local football team, Crystal Palace.
Mark Butcher partnered Sarah Brightman on the second series of Just the Two of Us aired on BBC One in January, 2007. They came third overall.
At one time during his playing career, Butcher was married to former England and Surrey team-mate Alec Stewart's sister Judy.[2]
Surrey's current coach and former player, Alan Butcher, is his father, and his brother, Gary, has played for Glamorgan and Surrey.
