Butcher lays building blocks

Mark Butcher is eager to see the youngsters develop as Surrey begin to rebuild

Captain Mark Butcher has stressed the importance of Surrey learning from the mistakes of their last stint in Division Two as they prepare for a return to the lower tier.

Surrey suffered relegation from the LV= County Championship top flight last year without recording a victory.

The arrival of Chris Adams as cricket manager and former South Africa fast bowler Andre Nel on a three-year contract may have raised expectations at the Brit Oval, but Butcher has put an emphasis on development as well as success.

He wants younger players to establish themselves rather than relying on the more experienced members of the squad to win matches, even if that means they do not bounce back to the top flight immediately.

Butcher, 36, said: "When you start new in Division Two, you want to be successful and get promoted, but your aims and the way you go about doing that is different.

"The most important thing for me is that the young players play and perform; it's not just about wearing the shirt.

“They have to be out there making careers for themselves and any success we have is built on their success.

"It would be fantastic to go back up to Division One but I don't think it would do a great deal for the club if it is on the back of Mark Ramprakash or me getting all the runs.

"That is the aim for the year, to get these guys in and have them in on merit."

Missing out on promotion would be a blow Butcher is willing to take if it meant Surrey's foundations were built for years to come.

Cricket manager Chris Adams boasts considerable success during his time with Sussex

"If that is what it means then I would have no problem with it at all," he said.

"When we went down in 2005 the immediate reaction was to go straight back up, which we did comfortably. Then we found ourselves in a similar position.

"In hindsight, perhaps we would have been better off if we tried to build and maybe stay a bit longer.

“There are pressures and different expectations. For some, staying in Division Two is an anathema. If that is what happens and we have a side that develops then I don't think it is a problem."

Adams arrived at the Brit Oval with a reputation of delivering success after captaining Sussex to three titles in five years between 2003 and 2007. He retired as a player at the end of last season.

Butcher said: "I met Chris two or three times in and around the time he was interviewing for the job.

"Everyone is very excited about it and there will be a lot of changes, a slightly different way of doing things to what there was in the past and what might be the Surrey way. In the end the two things will melt together very well.

"He doesn't expect to come in, wave a magic wand and expect everything to be better and there are certain things he knows will take a little bit of time to get used to."

In Nel, Butcher will have a feisty and aggressive bowler to lead his attack after his retirement from international cricket.

"The addition of Andre to the Surrey dressing room underlines the ambition I have for the club," Adams said.

"He has proven pace, power and wicket-taking ability and will be a fantastic addition to our pace team."