Butcher goes back to basics

_{Watch Mark Butcher speak exclusively to ECBtv about the importance of young players at Surrey}

Mark Butcher is treating Surrey’s relegation from LV County Championship Division One as the beginning of a new era at the Brit Oval.

Surrey suffered the indignity of finishing bottom of the table last summer without a win to their name in the longer form of the game, while they also failed to match expectations in one-day cricket.

Captain Butcher, however, is keen to use life in the Second Division as the breeding ground for the club’s youngsters, who have found opportunities hard to come by in the recent past.

“It’s very important that the young players come through,” he told ECBtv.

“It is for all county sides, but particularly ours because, on the back of many years of success, our young players coming through haven’t perhaps had a route in when the team has been successful.

“I think now is the perfect time to do it - there’s no desperate rush and it’s not the be-all and end-all to be in Division One.

“The First Division was very tough last year – there were some very good teams in it – so perhaps the Second Division is an ideal time for some guys to come in and get a bit of foothold before they kick on.

Gus Mackay and Mark Butcher plan the way forward at an Academy coaching session

“We’ve got a nice crop of young guys coming through and hopefully they’ll be the ones that will come in and create that next successful Surrey team.”

Butcher, speaking during a coaching session for the Surrey Academy at Pemberton Greenish Academy, revealed he is particularly keen to blood the county’s most promising players this season.

With the likes of Mark Ramprakash, Jon Batty, James Ormond and Butcher himself closer to the end of their careers than the start, the need for fresh faces is crucial if Surrey’s hopes of becoming a force in the domestic game once more are to be realised.

“It’s fair to say we haven’t had a massive influx of real talent in the last three or four years,” added Butcher.

“We find ourselves now on the back of a very poor year last year, with enough time to take stock, look at the things we need to improve, look at the type of players that we need to bring in – the young ones in particular that are bubbling under the surface - and give them a chance.

“But the most important thing is that we do that with young players making proper contributions, becoming a main part of the team, and being able to take on from where old blokes like me have left off.

“It’s very important that we keep our eye on what happens and bring them in as often as we can to the professional set-up, so they get a good taste of it and we keep a close eye on them at close quarters.”

Former team-mates Butcher and Graham Thorpe will be reunited on the coaching front

Surrey’s relegation prompted a shake-up behind the scenes as well as on the pitch.

Gus Mackay was brought in as managing director and Alan Butcher’s role as coach was made redundant, paving the way for former Sussex captain Chris Adams’ arrival as cricket manager.

Graham Thorpe, the former England batsman and Surrey legend, was also recruited as batting coach, a move warmly welcomed by Mark Butcher, with whom he shared a dressing room at county and international level for many seasons.

“Who would have thought that grumpy old Gray would have come back and be forthcoming in terms of his knowledge and his skill and his enthusiasm with the young players?” joked Butcher.

“I know that he’s got a lot of very good ideas, good common sense ideas, and comes from a recent winning background, so it’s going to have that terrific injection of energy in the dressing room.

“We’ve been mates for many years and it’s a new beginning for both of us.”

Butcher revealed he hopes to be available for the start of the season, having undergone surgery last year on the knee injury which wrecked his 2008 campaign.

“I’m looking to get up to the four-month post-surgery period next month with no alarms,” he said.

“Everything is going pretty well at the moment, so I’m still on for being ready around about the start of the season.”