‘I’d be terrified if I was playing’, Butcher slams England’s preparation for India Tests

New Delhi : Former cricketer Mark Butcher has expressed concerns over England’s preparation for their five-match Test series in India, with the tourists scheduled to reach India a few days before the commencement of the first Test.

England is gearing up for the significant series with an 11-day training camp in Abu Dhabi and opted to skip warm-up matches in India, a decision which has drawn criticism from former players, especially considering the challenging nature of touring the subcontinent.

The Three Lions will arrive in Hyderabad three days before the start of the first match, which is scheduled from January 25 to 29 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

“Frankly I’d be a little bit terrified if I was playing. Most of the guys haven’t played any long-form cricket since July. Very few of the squad were involved a great deal in the rundown of the County Championship which finished at the back end of September. We’re now three months down the road with nobody having had any sort of middle practice at all,” Butcher said on Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast.

“It’s totally in keeping with the way England are doing things, and their motto is, ‘Just because you’ve always done something before doesn’t mean you should always do it forever and a day’. But I think, from a playing point of view, I would be a little bit concerned about not having felt that competition, being out in the middle and taking guard on something where the runs you make and your wicket are important,” he added.

England also refrained from playing any warm-up matches before their 3-0 series triumph in Pakistan. Additionally, they had a brief preparation period leading up to the home Ashes series last summer.

“England did a similar thing in the lead up to the last Ashes series away from home and we saw how that went. They did a similar thing leading into the Ashes series at home during the course of this summer and were 2-0 down before they got going.

“You certainly couldn’t say for sure that this England side with a lack of experience, or a lack of hot shot spin bowling options in particular, would be in a position to do anything like they did against Australia, coming back from 2-0 down, against this India team who simply do not lose series at home.”

“The only thing with it is, it puts you under an enormous amount of pressure should it go badly,” he added.