Key Takeaways:
Mark Butcher played 71 Tests for England, scoring 4,288 runs at an average of 34.58.
He made 8 centuries and 23 half-centuries, with a highest score of 173*.
His top performances include match-winning and crucial innings against Australia, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.
Known for stepping up in high-pressure situations, he excelled against world-class bowling attacks.
Mark Butcher is one of the leading commentators in the world of cricket for the past number of years but he was once a very good batter in Test Cricket for England. He played 71 Test Matches for England. He scored 4288 runs for England at an average of 34.58. He made 8 hundreds In Test Cricket. He did not play ODI Cricket for England. Mark Butcher was someone who could have got more runs and played 100 Test Matches for England. He also has made 23 half centuries in Test Cricket.
Who was Mark Butcher's best Test innings against?
Mark Butcher's best Test innings was his unbeaten 173* against Australia in 2001. Chasing 315 in the fourth innings, he single-handedly led England to victory, dismantling an attack featuring Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, and Jason Gillespie.
Top 5 Best Innings of Mark Butcher in Test Cricket
1) 173* vs Australia (2001)
This was in the fourth Innings of this Test Match. This was a very competitive match in which Australia made 447 in the first innings and then In the fourth Innings England needed 315 to win the test match. At this moment under high pressure, Mark Butcher stepped up for his country and he made 173 unbeaten runs and won the match single handedly for England. He made these in very quick time in 227 balls at a strike rate of 76.21. He smashed 23 fours and 1 six meaning 98 runs in boundaries. He ran for 75 of his runs and yet he was striking at over 76. England won the match by 6 wickets and he smashed the bowling attack of Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Jason Gillespie.
2) 124 vs Australia (2004)
This was yet another incredible performance from the bat of Mark Butcher against Australia. He was batting in the first innings of this test match. He made 124 runs in 276 balls. He had a strike rate of 45 in this innings. He hit 19 fours In this innings meaning he hit 76 runs in boundaries. He played a lot of dot balls in this innings as he only ran for 48 of his runs. England made 362 in the first innings. Mark Butcher also made 34 runs in the second batting innings of England. As a result, England won this match by 225 runs.
3) 123 vs Sri Lanka (2002)
This was against Sri Lanka in 2002. At that time Sri Lanka had bowlers like Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan and Mark Butcher took them apart. It was in the first innings of this test match. He was batting at number 3 and he made 123 runs from 226 balls in this first innings. He has a good strike rate of 54.42 in this innings. He hit 18 fours In this innings. He made 72 runs in boundaries. Mark Butcher could play the attacking game as well as the defensive one. England made 512 in the first innings and they won the match by 10 Wickets.
4) 116 vs South Africa (1998)
This was the first test hundred in the career of Mark Butcher and it came against South Africa. It was against the bowling attack of Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Jacques Kallis. Mark Butcher had a great habit of smashing the best bowlers in the world. He was opening the batting in this match. He made 116 runs in 252 balls. He had a strike rate of 46.03 in this innings. He hit 18 fours in this innings meaning 72 runs in boundaries. This was a tight test match and England won the match by 22 runs. Mark Butcher also made 37 important runs in the second batting innings for England.
5) 116 vs Australia (1998)
The 5th innings in this list is yet another incredible performance against Australia. He liked performing at the biggest stage in Test Cricket. In this match, Australia batted first and made 485 in the first innings. England were batting and it was Mark Butcher leading the way from the top. He made 116 runs from 236 balls at a strike rate of 49.15. He hit 16 fours in this innings meaning 64 runs in boundaries. He liked hitting between 16-20 fours in an innings of more than 100. He did not like running much. This test match was a draw.
Mark Butcher Stats:
Format | Tests |
Matches | 71 |
Innings | 131 |
Runs | 4,288 |
Highest Score | 173* |
Average | 34.6 |
Strike Rate | 42.9 |
100s | 8 |
50s | 23 |
Also Read | Greatest English Cricketers of all time
