Former England Cricket Team player Mark Butcher is not happy with the preparations of the Three Lions. Butcher believes that the England team will be in for a major shock due to their lack of preparation for the IND vs ENG Test series. Though England are on a 11-day camp in Abu Dhabi, but Butcher is unhappy with the team’s preparation.
The IND vs ENG 1st Test starts on 25th Jan in Hyderabad. India have a strong record at home. The last time India lost a Test series was back in 2012 to England.
“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,” said Mark Butcher on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast.
“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 further added.
Mark Butcher further goes on to claim that the England Cricket Team doesn’t have the adequate quality and experience in the side. The former cricketer further went to state that Ben Stokes and co will find it hard to replicate their good form in the Indian subcontinent pitches.