(AFP Photo)
Mark Butcher, the former England batter, has observed that the team has demonstrated notable refinement and progress during their 3-0 Test series triumph over the West Indies. England secured the series opener at Lord’s with an innings and 114-run victory, and followed it up with a dominant 241-run win in the second match at Trent Bridge.
They completed the series with a perfect record by clinching the third Test at Edgbaston with a ten-wicket victory. “England have shown refinement and improvement to what they’ve already done and what they were already capable of, and the difference then becomes England can produce that skill and quality over long periods of time.”
“The West Indies are only capable of doing it once a day for maybe an hour and a half, and were then founding wanting when England pushed back at them because they didn’t have the discipline and experience to keep prolonging it,” said Butcher on Sky Sports Cricket at the conclusion of the series.
Despite the retirement of veteran fast bowler James Anderson, England discovered new talent in Gus Atkinson and witnessed Mark Wood perform at his most formidable. The decision to introduce Jamie Smith as the wicketkeeper-batter, replacing Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes, also proved successful.
Butcher also believes that England now have a more resilient squad in Test matches, having learned from their errors during the tour of India, where they squandered winning positions and ultimately lost the series 4-1.
“Even though they had a couple of new players in the side and shuffled the pack a bit – obviously there was James Anderson’s retirement and the emotion around that in the first Test – England have got a lot of battle-hardened players in that team right now.”
“They were chastened a little bit over the course of the winter and perhaps looked at ways where they could not give away winning positions or allow teams to come back into Test matches.”
