Mark Butcher slams England's preparations before India Test series

Listen to Story Former England cricketer, Mark Butcher criticised the team for lack of preparation for the upcoming Test series against India. The England team is set to tour India for a 5 match Test series that begins on January 25 in Hyderabad. The team will be arriving in the subcontinent nation only 3 days prior to the start of the 1st Test.

This decision has already and former cricketers. Butcher has been the latest one to draw staunch criticism over England's move to not play any practice matches ahead of the all important Test series. He feels that lack of practice might haunt the team's chances of winning a Test series in India, a feat they haven't achieved for 12 years.

"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.

The England team will be preparing for the Test series with an 11 day training camp in Abu Dhabi. The Ben Stokes led side haven't played any Test matches since July 2023. Ever since Brendon McCullum became England's head coach, the team has let go of the tradition of playing practice games and opted for the 'Bazball' approach and managed to win the Test series against Pakistan 3 0 and draw the Ashes 2023 against Australia 2 2.

However, India has been a challenging side for the touring nation. Butcher expressed concerns about whether the team was prepared enough and questioned the team's decision to not spend at least 3 weeks in India ahead of the series and get acclimatised with the sub continent conditions. "Everybody believes that going to India that you're unlikely to win a five Test match series in India, right? But what people will be less likely to be gentle about is if you go there without having done the requisite getting ready for it and then get battered.

That's kind of inexcusable. Particularly given the huge gap that there has been for the Test team between July and now whereby there's no real reason why they couldn't have spent three weeks in India leading up to the series," Butcher said. The series will be a real Test for England, and it remains to be seen if they will be able to counter the Indian bowlers on spin friendly tracks with their aggressive approach..