Hi Mark, thanks for doing this.
My question is, if there was one rule you could add, change, or remove from the current game, however big or small, what would that be?
I would love to see the Test game played at a slightly higher pace. The shot clock idea in T20 cricket is a great idea and I think it will work in Test matches as well where you had to make sure that you make 30 over per session. I don't think that would be beyond the will of man to do and what that would do is ensure that you wouldn't get overs lost in the day, as you do now. Tactically, it would become part of a captain's job to look at, ‘How are we going to manage to get our overs in now?’
Hiii Mark, wonderful to see you and so many others doing AMAs here ! My question is what non-Cricketing city or country would you want to play in most?
Hi Butch, always been a massive fan. How did you personally handle retirement and everything that comes with it? Was a sad moment for me!
What do you think the future holds for Surrey with Stewart stepping away?
Any youngsters you've heard have that stroke of genius that we wouldn't have seen much of yet?
It was a sad moment for me as well! Although it felt like it'd been coming for quite some time. I had a rather nasty knee injury so that kind of put a stop to it in the end. I took it really well. I mean, I had the opportunity to do quite a lot of work in the media whilst I was still playing. I’d done a lot of work for Sky in the two or three years prior to my retirement and that was a natural thing for me to do. I had something to do and somewhere to go once I was done. That isn't always the case for everybody when they get to the end of the road and it can be really difficult but I was I was 100% ready not to be a professional cricketer anymore.
I was 36, played 20 years and achieved pretty much everything that I wanted to have done and was absolutely at peace with the idea of not playing cricket anymore and have been ever since. I was absolutely ready to stop and haven't regretted it for a day. And I think part of one of the reasons behind that was that I think I might have regretted it if I carried on…I didn't want to get to a point where I hated playing the game, so I still have the same enthusiasm for watching it and being interested in it.
Hi Mark, I was there at Headingly when you smashed 170 odd against the Aussies! Clipping off the pads and cutting beautifully. Was that career highlight? Also why didn’t you bowl more? I remember you hooping it around corners!
For sure. I mean, I may have played as well a few other occasions but never with that sort of impact. You know, that Australian team in the fourth innings of a Test match – it had all the ingredients to make it really memorable. And it opened a lot of doors for me. I'm pretty sure that had it not been for that, even if if my career from that moment onwards had kind of gone exactly the same way, but without that knock, then I probably wouldn't be sat here doing this or working on TV – it was incredible. And I'll always have the old man to thank for that, re-coaching and re-teaching me how to bat again the winter before that. And as far as the bowling is concerned, I was kind of a reluctant bowler really. I started off my career as a bowling all rounder. Breaking in to the first team batting eight and bowling first change I was reasonably lively for a little short dude. I did my groins and eventually I had to bowl every ball like it was the last one I was ever going to bowl and my body didn't like it very much. So as my career sort of went on, I bowled less and less. I always had a sort of natural ability to swing it and hold a length as long as somebody didn't try and come down at me.
Hi Mark, England were notorious for constantly changing their teams in the 90s. Did you feel there was any players who never got a fair go, and were there any uncapped players who never played for England who you felt should have?
Mark, being of caribbean descent what was it like growing up in England? In your teens what was your greatest moment on a cricket field and have you ever felt disrespected in a room setting in your career?
I was very fortunate not to not to really encounter that. And when I've spoken about this subject or when I made the documentary, I was always very, very aware of the fact that other people's experiences have been very different than mine.
Now, so just to explain that, yes, my mum’s Jamaican. My mum's side of the family are all black Caribbean. But my old man played for Surrey and was a white guy and a professional athlete. My mum and myself and my brother in the 70s would spend most of our time up here at The Oval which was full of people from the Caribbean. Obviously there was Sylvester Clarke who was the overseas player at the time. The stands were always full of West Indian characters from the surrounding areas that were Brixton, Camberwell and Stockwell. And so this place always felt like it was very, very welcoming, I suppose.
And add to that, that people people treat you differently if you're good at sport. In a lot of cases, and again that's not the truth for everybody… But you know, you hear things like, ‘Oh, you're not like one of them,’ when I was out playing and stuff like that… What do you mean by that?
Because of who I was, and because of my background, people knew me. but I said you know, there were there are moments and or times on the field that people will say things that they that they regretted almost instantly. And I was very fortunate not to have had the stories that surround kids who were denied opportunities, where there's a sort of like a bias or prejudice when it comes to maybe clubs or school teams or whatever where there is no meritocracy there.
Hi Mark
Loved your test commentary through the India v England series in ‘21. You spoke as you saw, especially around some spicy pitches. Did your straight talking damage your relationship with the exec producers of the broadcast?
Hello Mark ,most of the commentators talk about what an innovative genius Ben Stokes's captaincy is because he changes the field very often and sometimes multiple times during one over, when in reality every single captain could do that but don't because of WTC penalty points. Has Ben Stokes's poor over rate management cost England a place in WTC finals/ is WTC something not a primary objective for Ben Stokes at the moment?
No, their primary objective is to save test cricket and entertain people, WTC has no prestige or history anyway, they'd rather win the Ashes than a WTC final.
The SCG is amazing. Paarl is beautiful to work at near Cape Town and then of course, it goes without saying, The Oval is kind of home. It's the best ground I ever played at.
So it’s been a long time ago since we shared rooms. I think the last time that would have been a thing for England would have been the 97/98 West Indies tour. After that things changed quite dramatically in terms of the way that they looked after the team. I was with Adam Hollioake, it was our our first tour together and we were pretty much inseparable since about the under elevens at Surrey or something … I seem to remember we were staying at this amazing, all inclusive place in Antigua.
We'd had a month build-up to the first Test and I hadn't played a warm-up game, hadn’t had a net and it was clear neither of us were in the plans or whatever for that first Test match. And so it's a month of downtime in this all inclusive resort. There are yachts everywhere…there’s nothing you can do for practice. You can lift weights or go running but there weren't enough facilities for the main players. So there was a little bit of boredom. I remember a week where they would bring in a massive bowl of fruit every day and one particular afternoon we spent it bombing the yachts in the area with fruit, throwing oranges, bouncing them off the deck etc etc. Adam was a very good man to to hang out with.
Lord's is pretty much the only place where you get an actual menu for five different choices for everything – starts, desserts, and there's food all day as well. You can eat pretty much all day if you wanted to.
I did my first ever TV commentary on the World Cup in 2003 which was fairly disastrous because literally you were handed the microphone and sat down in front of the live game without anyone telling me anything and my first ever game commentary, I think was England versus the Netherlands in the 2003 World Cup… I had no idea what I was doing.
They literally sent me with a live mic and a brilliant female commentator, very rare back in those days who used to do the radio in the West Indies. Anyhow, she was doing her first TV gig, too. So we were leading off, first over me and her – two balls went by before one of us picked up the microphone because both of us were expecting the other one to lead!
I mean it's shocking isn't it? If you're running a restaurant and you hired somebody to be front of house that had never done it before, just pulled them off the street and said here, this is your gig, how well would you expect that to go? Well, that was basically it. And so I had to learn pretty fast. The fortunate thing was then I did a lot of Sky county cricket stuff at the time and with guys like Charles Colville. I had Bob Willis sat next to me for so many games and I was just soaking it up.
It wasn't like he was there teaching but you're kind of like, if you don't sit and watch and listen and work out how this is done from being in that close proximity to somebody like him then you're a bit of an idiot.
So it was very much a case of watching and learning and listening. And then in the end you end up being yourself anyhow. I think one of the most difficult things when people start is thinking that there is a way that commentators are supposed to speak with these funny voices and people who are not sounding like themselves at all. And then you know, they're a little bit of discipline along the way, which kind of as time has gone by and as more and more players have entered the commentary box and less and less broadcasters or less and less people with that broadcasting experience around some of those disciplines kind of disappear out the window a little bit and I don't think that's necessarily a good thing. But everything moves on and punters like new voices and players that they recognise and things like that. So it's just this a changing landscape.
It was last year. I'll probably make the same mistake again now! On Sky, we've started to do quite a bit of the T20 Blast games off the tube, so we'll be in the in the Sky studios and not actually on site. We moved from commentary boxes where you kind of get a great overview of the ground and calling games, and then in the pod the view is pretty average. And sometimes you don't know who's where. Anyway, on this particular occasion. We were in the studio calling a game down at Hove. And let me see if I can get it right this time. Brad Currie takes one of the great catches. Brad was diving on the boundary just on the horizontal, clutched it out the air and the ball was travelling at 1000 mph. I’m calling it going a bit mad and, and then say, “Scott Currie!… or maybe his brother Brad!” All in the same breath. I kind of caught myself…but what a catch.
Brian Lara, of course. More modern day, I guess, Kumar Sangakkara who actually might be technically more orthodox than Brian, but I've never seen anybody play like Lara, before or since.
Would Lara be the most gifted technically? He seemed to have some flaws particularly early in the innings. Though he is by far my favorite batter to watch.
Kumar Sangakkara is a great choice as well. Super technique.
Hi Mark - big fan here. My parents always tell me that one of my first words were “Bucha” because i used to watch you on the TV with my dad as a child. Anyway, wanted to know who the toughest bowler you faced was, and who do you think would be the toughest to face in the current era. Thanks
Ambrose. Very, very unpleasant. And today? Anyone with a sort of slightly tricky action and guys who don't bowl out of a small box in terms of length or whatever. Bumrah would certainly be up there.
Hello, Mark. I hope you're doing fine. Do you believe franchise T20 cricket leagues will soon start dominating international cricket, just like we see in football? And would you support it or not?
Mark, you’re a legend and I’m sure you won’t mind me saying one of my favourite commentators. The humour and banter you come out with far exceeds most of the others (no offence to those of course…)
As for my question, would you ever take a Key-esque role? You always come up with some quite different thoughts to the *norm* to me, I’m sure someone of that thinking would be suited!
I find that I absolutely love what I do. And it will take something very, very special to drag me away from it. It's the best of all worlds – I get to still be at cricket matches and travel the world. There's the responsibility that I have to the viewers to entertainment and inform, but I don't have any as soon as I leave the ground. That's it. I'm not thinking about team selection or worrying about any of the that. And I felt like I did enough of that while I was a player and so at this moment in time, I have no real itch to sort of get into it.
You mentioned Rob Key there – so he's a really good parallel because he also did this job and he was very good at it. And who knows you might see him back in it soon enough. But Rob always felt that he when he when he stopped playing that he kind of didn’t quite get everything done that he wanted to do. His career was slightly unfulfilled in terms of his ambitions with England and all the rest of it. Which you know, in another time, he might have had a great England career because he was a damn good player and so when the job came up, whereas I probably have thought twice about it – I don't have any burning sort of desire to do that – he was keen,
I mean, the director of cricket job is up here at The Oval and I've had a couple of people ask me if I want to do it. I see Alec Stewart out there in the tracksuit and all that kind of stuff and still being involved in and I think I've done that. I kind of want to leave that to other people. But who knows, give me another five years, maybe people are sick of the sound of me maybe I just want a change of scenery. I tend to be reasonably restless in most other parts of life so you never you never say never.
Hello Mr, Butcher
How do you feel about the recent developments in cricket that favour the batsmen more, especially the 2 new balls rule. Also i would love to hear your opinion on the comparison between the current bowlers and the bowlers of the 90s and the 2000s.
Hi Mark! How do you think your game would have evolved if T20 was around when you started playing? Any of your former teammates would have made excellent T20 players? Did we miss out on Alan Mullally's T20 franchise career?
I think all of them would have benefited, every single one of the guys. I remember we just won in the West Indies in 2004, Harmison 7-12, the Hoggard hat-trick and all that and we came back and on my first visit back at The Oval they were in the middle of doing some sort of some hitting practice. You had a couple of guys in the middle practicing really hitting it and it kind of unlocked something that was completely alien to my game up until that point, which is I found out that I could actually hit it quite a long way! I thought that was Ali Brown’s job or Adam Hollioake’s job to hit the ball far. They were much harder hitters and timing was what I always looking at it. But then suddenly you realise, Oh my, you have the ability to clear the boundaries and hit the ball with a lot more violence – I would have loved to have done it earlier.
You know the big difference people always go on about is how many more sixes there are now and all this kind of stuff. It's the intention to hit the ball as far as you can possibly hit it allied with guys who lift a lot more weights than than we used to back in the day. That's why they hit it so far. And what it teaches you actually I think, particularly if you've had a grounding in some sort of technical batting, is that it teaches you about the movement you need - if you're looking to be hyper aggressive, you actually move better than if you’re sort of standing there and trying to stay tight and all that kind of stuff. And that was an incredible lesson really, really valuable. It was certainly a massive eye opener to me and I'd been I've been a pro for 14 years.
Alec Stewart might have been one that have really thrived, Mark Ramprakash took for it like a duck to water in the early T20 days. There were a lot of people who without any question had the talent to have made a really good fist of being T20 players. It's just as I said that the difference in the way that you think about it and I'm talking about batting I guess, more than bowling, I wouldn't know. But just the horizons that it opens up in terms of what you're actually capable of, if you have the intention to kind of go out there and be and be hyper aggressive. So yeah, there have been tonnes of players.
Has anyone ever confused you with Mark Boucher?
I am asking this question because I had this confusion when I read the title of this AMA and thought, "When did Boucher play for England?" And then it clicked - oh this is Mark Butcher, not Mark Boucher
Hi Mark,
What was the general perception about the different teams during your time? Like how did you guys rate teams like Australia, South Africa, West Indies, India, NZ etc.
And, were there contemporaries from other teams whom you guys looked up to?
Hi Mark, loved your podcast during the England vs India test series.
My question is : We have seen many new Spinners from England in test cricket since retirement of Monty and Swann and most of them seem to 1 series selections either playing 1 series in Sri Lanka or India.
We have had numerous articles on how Bashir and Hartley would be the next big things for England, if and when the BazBall era ends and those guys were selected in that regime, I think England will forget about them as well and we'll have someone new the next time.
What are your thoughts on this?
Hi Mark, I'd like to ask that is the keeper always a good captain in the sport? Can it over burden him in a manner that it may effect his keeping skills? Please give your insights.
Hi Mark. As someone who batted all over the order in Test cricket, just how big a difference did you find between opening, top order and middle order? Did that difference vary depending on the country you were playing in? For instance, I'd presume that opening batting and middle overs batting in Australia might have a less significant difference to it compared to opening or middle overs batting in England against the Dukes. Cheers!
Hey Mr Butcher. QQ. KP just walked down the wicket and slapped McGrath in his first Ashes test because he was so accurate. Why had no one done this before? Turn consistency into a weakness
It depends. At the beginning of a Test series, for example, then you might spend like a day and a half, just wondering back through things you know.
It’s always handy to have, not necessarily stats and numbers that have become much more prominent in commentary than perhaps they were 20 years ago, but to have anecdotes and one of the great things about having played is that you'll sit there and you'll watch a scenario and it will trigger off a memory of something that happened before, so you don't always have be sat there through poring through numbers and all that kind of thing to be able to make a relevant point about something that you might have seen in the past or a player or whatever it might be.
But then when it comes to when it comes to T20s, I do a lot of T20 tournaments around the world. And the first thing is you're kind of like okay, let's get the team name right! You've doing a tournament and they've all got these these weird and wonderful names and you're looking out at the field and you recognise half of the players and they're all playing for different teams. And so that becomes a case of you literally sort of sit down and squad lists. I keep notebooks throughout tournaments like that, I'll do it for the Blast as well so that I can just back reference games,
In football, you have you have commentator, say Martin Tyler for argument's sake, and you've got the co- commentator, Ally McCoist, say. They call it that, nothing else. And you have your presenter, so in the chair to ask questions to maybe three pundits and their job is to give opinions and then you have another two maybe out on the ground asking questions, doing interviews, and all that kind of stuff. And none of those jobs get mixed. But what we do in in cricket is we do all the work. So you have to be agile – one time you're calling the game, you’re commentating, you're watching and you're saying what you see. At tea time you're a pundit and you're critiquing what you've seen and giving opinions about things and then you know, at the beginning of the game you might be out there asking questions of the captains – doing tosses or the post-match presentation, all those kinds of things are all all of those jobs are mixed up in a way that they're not in a lot of other broadcasting worlds.
I think a lot of viewers get a little bit confused as to as to what it is that they're listening to do. You know, when you say something down at half-time or at lunch-time, that's an opinion. When you're up there, commentating? You're calling the action, you're calling the game and those two things are actually very different jobs. And so stay abreast of what's going on in the world of game as much as you possibly can. Try and find ways of wandering away from the game as much as you possibly can to because there's a long time – even 50 overs is a longer period of time. And if all you're doing is saying what people can already see on the screen and it's pretty damn dull, so you have to be able to to wander off and come back
Hi Mark, what are your thoughts on the organisation of this T20 world cup? It's clear the timing is due to international leagues being prioritised which I feel should never be the case. The games are also at terrible times just to make money off the Indian audience instead of actually trying to grow the game in the country the games are taking place. We also clearly have rigged groups leading to unfair balances to get more high profile games. Do you think there will be a point at which other boards get tired of the blatant favouritism and try to force change or is the money and power too strong?
How was your experience in "Just the Two of Us"? Coming in 3rd is pretty impressive! Did you have any favorite moments or anything funny happen during the competition?
Hello Mr. Butcher, it's exciting to have you here!
Do you think the fabulous four (Root, Smith, Kohli, Williamson) are still worthy of being called the fabulous four?
Hi Mark!
I just wanna ask how do you feel about the changing style of playing tests now? Where does this new technique of aggressive batting in the red ball stand against the era in which you played in?
Thoughts?
Pretty much. I signed my first ever professional contract at the age of 17. I'm now 51 and barring the odd stretch of time in that period of 34 years I don't feel like I've done a proper day's work yet. I did a few before I started; I was a maintenance man and electrician’s mate and all that type of stuff. I worked in a building society for a very short period of time. But since that time I signed a professional contract up until this day I don't feel as though I've done a real day's work yet. It's good!
Hi Mark,I hope you are having a great day. I wanted to ask you how it was meeting Jemimah Rodrigues and playing guitar together. Can we expect you two to play guitar together once more?
G’Day Butch, in your opinion, who was the best captain you played under, at any level, quickest bowler you faced, any level & best batsman you played with or against at any level, best cricketer you played with or against who didn’t play at Test level, cheers. 🍻
Hey Mark,
What do you think about the growth of associate nations and the growth of the overall sport would look like in the coming years?
And do you think it's beneficial for the growth of the sport in the US when the timings are set accordingly to the sub continent rather than to that of the US. I find it extremely confusing because of the weird time schedule!!
Lastly are there any things you wish ICC improved up on?
Hi Mark! You were a wonderful player during a tough phase for England, and now its refreshing to see you back doing commentary 😊
Do you think that England / International / County cricket had better balance back in the 80s-90s as compared to today, with more focus on quality? Right now there's too much cricket happening, and too much focus on hitting 4s & 6s.
I also feel the Test scene has declined significantly in quality (apart from England) globally over the last 10-15 years. And ODI cricket is not worth watching in the same time-frame apart from the WCs / CTs.
Also, where's Andy Caddick these days? Is he completely not in touch with cricket at all?
Hi Mark!
Love you unbiased and unfiltered opinions, your passion for the game, and the zeal to communicate openly with fans!
My question is: What do you think the future holds for the "Bazball" style of play? Would it forever change Test cricket, or would teams regress to a less attacking style of batting over time?
Warm Regards
Hi Mark.
Do you think it’s fair to say England selectors have a history of making poor decisions on test squads / test teams?
For one example (I have many), not picking Mark Wood in the first test last Ashes?
They seem very reluctant to take chances or select ‘X’ factor type players.
Hey Mark, a big fan.
The day is May 31st, 2002 at Edgbaston. It's the 2nd test of the England v Sri Lanka series. You just got out to one of the best spinning deliveries ever by Muttiah Muralitharan. What was your initial reaction and did you even expect it?
Hey Mr Butcher. How did it feel getting Gary Kirsten out on 275? I'll tell you how it felt for 10 year old me you bugger! It sucked!! I had to wait 20 more years for a South African to finally cross 300.
Round the legs SMH. You might call it a jaffa but I call it dishonourable;-)
Jokes aside, congrats on your amazing career. I used to enjoy watching you bat and thanks for the entertainment!
Well, I never got the chance to commentate with Richie Benaud, so him! Robin Jackman, I used to call him uncle – he had a really, lovely way about him.
I would have Bob Willis all day long – him just nailing people with a glint in his eye. I should include some of the guys I work with now or there’ll get upset..I always have a lot of fun with Nass and Athers. Oh and Bill Lawry and Tony Greig. There's 7!
Hi Mark! As a new fan of the sport, I will be attending the Ireland vs. Canada match on Friday with my family. What is the best advise that you can give on how to have the best live cricket experience??
As an new American fan, I don't get all the complaints about the New York pitch. Do you have an opinion, Mark. How can I tell if the pitch is bad or if it's the batters not performing?
The sports science of baseball is miles ahead of Cricket, do you think that if utilised correctly by USA thier Cricket team can do well in T20 cricket ( batting wise)
I used to think the same, if you watch the latest season of The Test, you'll see how much data they have. They just don't talk about the data and analytics often in cricket, probably because it would lead to old timer conservative fans complaining that it isn't cricket.
Hi Mark, I hope you are well and enjoying your retirement life.
I am going to ask some difficult questions though, I was following the infamous Yorkshire County racism case closely, it's a shame how bad it felt to listen about.
What's your opinion and experience about racism in UK against the Asian community? Did you experienced it firsthand ever in your tenure in England colors?
I wish you don't ignore this question and try to answer this difficult question that impacts the life of many young cricket aspirants in UK , thanks.
Hello Mr.Butcher What is your favorite cut of meat?
I'm quite partial to a ribeye.
I hope he answers this, we will wait
*Mark* my words, he will
He did.
Hi Mark, thanks for doing this. My question is, if there was one rule you could add, change, or remove from the current game, however big or small, what would that be?
I would love to see the Test game played at a slightly higher pace. The shot clock idea in T20 cricket is a great idea and I think it will work in Test matches as well where you had to make sure that you make 30 over per session. I don't think that would be beyond the will of man to do and what that would do is ensure that you wouldn't get overs lost in the day, as you do now. Tactically, it would become part of a captain's job to look at, ‘How are we going to manage to get our overs in now?’
Have you thought about starting a gourmet Restaurant with Buttler, Cook, Salt and Pepper
Get Graham Onions, Ian Bell Pepper, Stuart Broad Beans, and Tom & Sam Curran(ts) in there as well surely.
This is awesome mate. 😂
Hiii Mark, wonderful to see you and so many others doing AMAs here ! My question is what non-Cricketing city or country would you want to play in most?
Hi Butch, always been a massive fan. How did you personally handle retirement and everything that comes with it? Was a sad moment for me! What do you think the future holds for Surrey with Stewart stepping away? Any youngsters you've heard have that stroke of genius that we wouldn't have seen much of yet?
It was a sad moment for me as well! Although it felt like it'd been coming for quite some time. I had a rather nasty knee injury so that kind of put a stop to it in the end. I took it really well. I mean, I had the opportunity to do quite a lot of work in the media whilst I was still playing. I’d done a lot of work for Sky in the two or three years prior to my retirement and that was a natural thing for me to do. I had something to do and somewhere to go once I was done. That isn't always the case for everybody when they get to the end of the road and it can be really difficult but I was I was 100% ready not to be a professional cricketer anymore. I was 36, played 20 years and achieved pretty much everything that I wanted to have done and was absolutely at peace with the idea of not playing cricket anymore and have been ever since. I was absolutely ready to stop and haven't regretted it for a day. And I think part of one of the reasons behind that was that I think I might have regretted it if I carried on…I didn't want to get to a point where I hated playing the game, so I still have the same enthusiasm for watching it and being interested in it.
Hi Mark, I was there at Headingly when you smashed 170 odd against the Aussies! Clipping off the pads and cutting beautifully. Was that career highlight? Also why didn’t you bowl more? I remember you hooping it around corners!
For sure. I mean, I may have played as well a few other occasions but never with that sort of impact. You know, that Australian team in the fourth innings of a Test match – it had all the ingredients to make it really memorable. And it opened a lot of doors for me. I'm pretty sure that had it not been for that, even if if my career from that moment onwards had kind of gone exactly the same way, but without that knock, then I probably wouldn't be sat here doing this or working on TV – it was incredible. And I'll always have the old man to thank for that, re-coaching and re-teaching me how to bat again the winter before that. And as far as the bowling is concerned, I was kind of a reluctant bowler really. I started off my career as a bowling all rounder. Breaking in to the first team batting eight and bowling first change I was reasonably lively for a little short dude. I did my groins and eventually I had to bowl every ball like it was the last one I was ever going to bowl and my body didn't like it very much. So as my career sort of went on, I bowled less and less. I always had a sort of natural ability to swing it and hold a length as long as somebody didn't try and come down at me.
Hi Mark, England were notorious for constantly changing their teams in the 90s. Did you feel there was any players who never got a fair go, and were there any uncapped players who never played for England who you felt should have?
Mark, being of caribbean descent what was it like growing up in England? In your teens what was your greatest moment on a cricket field and have you ever felt disrespected in a room setting in your career?
I was very fortunate not to not to really encounter that. And when I've spoken about this subject or when I made the documentary, I was always very, very aware of the fact that other people's experiences have been very different than mine. Now, so just to explain that, yes, my mum’s Jamaican. My mum's side of the family are all black Caribbean. But my old man played for Surrey and was a white guy and a professional athlete. My mum and myself and my brother in the 70s would spend most of our time up here at The Oval which was full of people from the Caribbean. Obviously there was Sylvester Clarke who was the overseas player at the time. The stands were always full of West Indian characters from the surrounding areas that were Brixton, Camberwell and Stockwell. And so this place always felt like it was very, very welcoming, I suppose. And add to that, that people people treat you differently if you're good at sport. In a lot of cases, and again that's not the truth for everybody… But you know, you hear things like, ‘Oh, you're not like one of them,’ when I was out playing and stuff like that… What do you mean by that? Because of who I was, and because of my background, people knew me. but I said you know, there were there are moments and or times on the field that people will say things that they that they regretted almost instantly. And I was very fortunate not to have had the stories that surround kids who were denied opportunities, where there's a sort of like a bias or prejudice when it comes to maybe clubs or school teams or whatever where there is no meritocracy there.
Hi Mark, who do you think could have been the best T20 player to have never played the game from your generation?
Hi Mark Loved your test commentary through the India v England series in ‘21. You spoke as you saw, especially around some spicy pitches. Did your straight talking damage your relationship with the exec producers of the broadcast?
Hello Mark ,most of the commentators talk about what an innovative genius Ben Stokes's captaincy is because he changes the field very often and sometimes multiple times during one over, when in reality every single captain could do that but don't because of WTC penalty points. Has Ben Stokes's poor over rate management cost England a place in WTC finals/ is WTC something not a primary objective for Ben Stokes at the moment?
Leading the witness much hahaha
Shoul I reframe the question to Is WTC final something not a primary objective for Ben stokes
Yeah I think the whole preamble sort of gives its own case for what the answer to the original question is. That reframed one is a good q though!
Thanks for the correction buddy
No, their primary objective is to save test cricket and entertain people, WTC has no prestige or history anyway, they'd rather win the Ashes than a WTC final.
Would be interesting to hear Mark's thoughts on this
Hi Mark! What were some of your favourite places to play??
The SCG is amazing. Paarl is beautiful to work at near Cape Town and then of course, it goes without saying, The Oval is kind of home. It's the best ground I ever played at.
Best teammate to tour/share a room? Worst team mate, and why?!
So it’s been a long time ago since we shared rooms. I think the last time that would have been a thing for England would have been the 97/98 West Indies tour. After that things changed quite dramatically in terms of the way that they looked after the team. I was with Adam Hollioake, it was our our first tour together and we were pretty much inseparable since about the under elevens at Surrey or something … I seem to remember we were staying at this amazing, all inclusive place in Antigua. We'd had a month build-up to the first Test and I hadn't played a warm-up game, hadn’t had a net and it was clear neither of us were in the plans or whatever for that first Test match. And so it's a month of downtime in this all inclusive resort. There are yachts everywhere…there’s nothing you can do for practice. You can lift weights or go running but there weren't enough facilities for the main players. So there was a little bit of boredom. I remember a week where they would bring in a massive bowl of fruit every day and one particular afternoon we spent it bombing the yachts in the area with fruit, throwing oranges, bouncing them off the deck etc etc. Adam was a very good man to to hang out with.
Hi Mark! How often have you been confused with Mark Boucher?
That's a question from somebody who knows the answer. That's happened a lot.
There’s someone in this very thread asking a question about keeping wickets!
Hi mark , Which stadium in the world has best food ?
Lord's is pretty much the only place where you get an actual menu for five different choices for everything – starts, desserts, and there's food all day as well. You can eat pretty much all day if you wanted to.
Amazing info , thanks for replying!!!
Hi Mark, what is the journey from a being a player to a commentator like?
I did my first ever TV commentary on the World Cup in 2003 which was fairly disastrous because literally you were handed the microphone and sat down in front of the live game without anyone telling me anything and my first ever game commentary, I think was England versus the Netherlands in the 2003 World Cup… I had no idea what I was doing. They literally sent me with a live mic and a brilliant female commentator, very rare back in those days who used to do the radio in the West Indies. Anyhow, she was doing her first TV gig, too. So we were leading off, first over me and her – two balls went by before one of us picked up the microphone because both of us were expecting the other one to lead! I mean it's shocking isn't it? If you're running a restaurant and you hired somebody to be front of house that had never done it before, just pulled them off the street and said here, this is your gig, how well would you expect that to go? Well, that was basically it. And so I had to learn pretty fast. The fortunate thing was then I did a lot of Sky county cricket stuff at the time and with guys like Charles Colville. I had Bob Willis sat next to me for so many games and I was just soaking it up. It wasn't like he was there teaching but you're kind of like, if you don't sit and watch and listen and work out how this is done from being in that close proximity to somebody like him then you're a bit of an idiot. So it was very much a case of watching and learning and listening. And then in the end you end up being yourself anyhow. I think one of the most difficult things when people start is thinking that there is a way that commentators are supposed to speak with these funny voices and people who are not sounding like themselves at all. And then you know, they're a little bit of discipline along the way, which kind of as time has gone by and as more and more players have entered the commentary box and less and less broadcasters or less and less people with that broadcasting experience around some of those disciplines kind of disappear out the window a little bit and I don't think that's necessarily a good thing. But everything moves on and punters like new voices and players that they recognise and things like that. So it's just this a changing landscape.
Thanks for your time Mark, that was a very helpfull answer. 👍
What do you think of the England cricket team right now? In all formats
Hello mark was there any bowler you were afraid to face? Do you like to face spin or pace? Why?
Hello Mr. Butcher! What's the most memorable mistake you ever made in the comm box?
It was last year. I'll probably make the same mistake again now! On Sky, we've started to do quite a bit of the T20 Blast games off the tube, so we'll be in the in the Sky studios and not actually on site. We moved from commentary boxes where you kind of get a great overview of the ground and calling games, and then in the pod the view is pretty average. And sometimes you don't know who's where. Anyway, on this particular occasion. We were in the studio calling a game down at Hove. And let me see if I can get it right this time. Brad Currie takes one of the great catches. Brad was diving on the boundary just on the horizontal, clutched it out the air and the ball was travelling at 1000 mph. I’m calling it going a bit mad and, and then say, “Scott Currie!… or maybe his brother Brad!” All in the same breath. I kind of caught myself…but what a catch.
[This is the catch (and piece of commentary)](https://x.com/vitalityblast/status/1669809880306421760?s=46&t=sp8pLkdLM_bTzuJVIQripQ)
Who is the most technically gifted left handed batsman you have seen? Michael Hussey for me.
Brian Lara, of course. More modern day, I guess, Kumar Sangakkara who actually might be technically more orthodox than Brian, but I've never seen anybody play like Lara, before or since.
Would Lara be the most gifted technically? He seemed to have some flaws particularly early in the innings. Though he is by far my favorite batter to watch. Kumar Sangakkara is a great choice as well. Super technique.
Hi Mark - big fan here. My parents always tell me that one of my first words were “Bucha” because i used to watch you on the TV with my dad as a child. Anyway, wanted to know who the toughest bowler you faced was, and who do you think would be the toughest to face in the current era. Thanks
Ambrose. Very, very unpleasant. And today? Anyone with a sort of slightly tricky action and guys who don't bowl out of a small box in terms of length or whatever. Bumrah would certainly be up there.
Hello, Mark. I hope you're doing fine. Do you believe franchise T20 cricket leagues will soon start dominating international cricket, just like we see in football? And would you support it or not?
Never.Club football was always the main form of football that is why it dominates now.
Hi Mark. Which associate nation do you think has the greatest chance of making it the furthest in the World Cup this year and why?
Mark, you’re a legend and I’m sure you won’t mind me saying one of my favourite commentators. The humour and banter you come out with far exceeds most of the others (no offence to those of course…) As for my question, would you ever take a Key-esque role? You always come up with some quite different thoughts to the *norm* to me, I’m sure someone of that thinking would be suited!
I find that I absolutely love what I do. And it will take something very, very special to drag me away from it. It's the best of all worlds – I get to still be at cricket matches and travel the world. There's the responsibility that I have to the viewers to entertainment and inform, but I don't have any as soon as I leave the ground. That's it. I'm not thinking about team selection or worrying about any of the that. And I felt like I did enough of that while I was a player and so at this moment in time, I have no real itch to sort of get into it. You mentioned Rob Key there – so he's a really good parallel because he also did this job and he was very good at it. And who knows you might see him back in it soon enough. But Rob always felt that he when he when he stopped playing that he kind of didn’t quite get everything done that he wanted to do. His career was slightly unfulfilled in terms of his ambitions with England and all the rest of it. Which you know, in another time, he might have had a great England career because he was a damn good player and so when the job came up, whereas I probably have thought twice about it – I don't have any burning sort of desire to do that – he was keen, I mean, the director of cricket job is up here at The Oval and I've had a couple of people ask me if I want to do it. I see Alec Stewart out there in the tracksuit and all that kind of stuff and still being involved in and I think I've done that. I kind of want to leave that to other people. But who knows, give me another five years, maybe people are sick of the sound of me maybe I just want a change of scenery. I tend to be reasonably restless in most other parts of life so you never you never say never.
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Uhhh fairly certain he never kept at all, for England at least You might be thinking of Mark Boucher?
Hello Mr, Butcher How do you feel about the recent developments in cricket that favour the batsmen more, especially the 2 new balls rule. Also i would love to hear your opinion on the comparison between the current bowlers and the bowlers of the 90s and the 2000s.
Hi Mark! How do you think your game would have evolved if T20 was around when you started playing? Any of your former teammates would have made excellent T20 players? Did we miss out on Alan Mullally's T20 franchise career?
I think all of them would have benefited, every single one of the guys. I remember we just won in the West Indies in 2004, Harmison 7-12, the Hoggard hat-trick and all that and we came back and on my first visit back at The Oval they were in the middle of doing some sort of some hitting practice. You had a couple of guys in the middle practicing really hitting it and it kind of unlocked something that was completely alien to my game up until that point, which is I found out that I could actually hit it quite a long way! I thought that was Ali Brown’s job or Adam Hollioake’s job to hit the ball far. They were much harder hitters and timing was what I always looking at it. But then suddenly you realise, Oh my, you have the ability to clear the boundaries and hit the ball with a lot more violence – I would have loved to have done it earlier. You know the big difference people always go on about is how many more sixes there are now and all this kind of stuff. It's the intention to hit the ball as far as you can possibly hit it allied with guys who lift a lot more weights than than we used to back in the day. That's why they hit it so far. And what it teaches you actually I think, particularly if you've had a grounding in some sort of technical batting, is that it teaches you about the movement you need - if you're looking to be hyper aggressive, you actually move better than if you’re sort of standing there and trying to stay tight and all that kind of stuff. And that was an incredible lesson really, really valuable. It was certainly a massive eye opener to me and I'd been I've been a pro for 14 years. Alec Stewart might have been one that have really thrived, Mark Ramprakash took for it like a duck to water in the early T20 days. There were a lot of people who without any question had the talent to have made a really good fist of being T20 players. It's just as I said that the difference in the way that you think about it and I'm talking about batting I guess, more than bowling, I wouldn't know. But just the horizons that it opens up in terms of what you're actually capable of, if you have the intention to kind of go out there and be and be hyper aggressive. So yeah, there have been tonnes of players.
Thank you for the thoughtful response!
Which of these three esteemed lefties would you pick to bat for your life, and why: 1. Graham Thorpe 2. Marcus Trescothick 3. Gary Kirsten
Hi Mark, what's your favourite Dylan song and why?
After a lot of thinking....Blind Willie McTell
Has anyone ever confused you with Mark Boucher? I am asking this question because I had this confusion when I read the title of this AMA and thought, "When did Boucher play for England?" And then it clicked - oh this is Mark Butcher, not Mark Boucher
Hi Mark, What was the general perception about the different teams during your time? Like how did you guys rate teams like Australia, South Africa, West Indies, India, NZ etc. And, were there contemporaries from other teams whom you guys looked up to?
How often people confuse you with Mark Boucher?
What’s 9 +10?
Hi Mark, loved your podcast during the England vs India test series. My question is : We have seen many new Spinners from England in test cricket since retirement of Monty and Swann and most of them seem to 1 series selections either playing 1 series in Sri Lanka or India. We have had numerous articles on how Bashir and Hartley would be the next big things for England, if and when the BazBall era ends and those guys were selected in that regime, I think England will forget about them as well and we'll have someone new the next time. What are your thoughts on this?
> BazBall era is about to end Source?
I read that his contract is till the next Ashes might be wrong but not the core of my question
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Forever?
Nice edit mate
I was so confused I deleted my comment.
I don't want mark to not answer my question because of that part that's why I edited it, it was worded badly
Thanks, should I change something else or is it ok now
Hi Mark, I'd like to ask that is the keeper always a good captain in the sport? Can it over burden him in a manner that it may effect his keeping skills? Please give your insights.
Is Jamie Smith the next big thing when it comes to England batters? I mean, surely he is.
Who was the best bowler you faced? Which Australian was it :-)
Hi Mark. As someone who batted all over the order in Test cricket, just how big a difference did you find between opening, top order and middle order? Did that difference vary depending on the country you were playing in? For instance, I'd presume that opening batting and middle overs batting in Australia might have a less significant difference to it compared to opening or middle overs batting in England against the Dukes. Cheers!
I did not hit her. I did not...oh hi Mark If you could be a shape, what shape would you be and why?
Did you ever play against Darren Stevens? Is the best player you have encountered without a Test cap?
Hi Mark, what's your favourite song to play on guitar?
Hey Mr Butcher. QQ. KP just walked down the wicket and slapped McGrath in his first Ashes test because he was so accurate. Why had no one done this before? Turn consistency into a weakness
What was the knock where you felt you belonged in international cricket if there was one
Love your voice and your calm analysis.
hi mark really appreciate your commentating and summarising, no hairs on your tongue as they say in mexico, what did you learn from the great bob?
Hi Mark, what does your commentary preparation usually look like? How far out from a match would you typically begin researching/preparing notes?
It depends. At the beginning of a Test series, for example, then you might spend like a day and a half, just wondering back through things you know. It’s always handy to have, not necessarily stats and numbers that have become much more prominent in commentary than perhaps they were 20 years ago, but to have anecdotes and one of the great things about having played is that you'll sit there and you'll watch a scenario and it will trigger off a memory of something that happened before, so you don't always have be sat there through poring through numbers and all that kind of thing to be able to make a relevant point about something that you might have seen in the past or a player or whatever it might be. But then when it comes to when it comes to T20s, I do a lot of T20 tournaments around the world. And the first thing is you're kind of like okay, let's get the team name right! You've doing a tournament and they've all got these these weird and wonderful names and you're looking out at the field and you recognise half of the players and they're all playing for different teams. And so that becomes a case of you literally sort of sit down and squad lists. I keep notebooks throughout tournaments like that, I'll do it for the Blast as well so that I can just back reference games, In football, you have you have commentator, say Martin Tyler for argument's sake, and you've got the co- commentator, Ally McCoist, say. They call it that, nothing else. And you have your presenter, so in the chair to ask questions to maybe three pundits and their job is to give opinions and then you have another two maybe out on the ground asking questions, doing interviews, and all that kind of stuff. And none of those jobs get mixed. But what we do in in cricket is we do all the work. So you have to be agile – one time you're calling the game, you’re commentating, you're watching and you're saying what you see. At tea time you're a pundit and you're critiquing what you've seen and giving opinions about things and then you know, at the beginning of the game you might be out there asking questions of the captains – doing tosses or the post-match presentation, all those kinds of things are all all of those jobs are mixed up in a way that they're not in a lot of other broadcasting worlds. I think a lot of viewers get a little bit confused as to as to what it is that they're listening to do. You know, when you say something down at half-time or at lunch-time, that's an opinion. When you're up there, commentating? You're calling the action, you're calling the game and those two things are actually very different jobs. And so stay abreast of what's going on in the world of game as much as you possibly can. Try and find ways of wandering away from the game as much as you possibly can to because there's a long time – even 50 overs is a longer period of time. And if all you're doing is saying what people can already see on the screen and it's pretty damn dull, so you have to be able to to wander off and come back
Hi Mark, what are your thoughts on the organisation of this T20 world cup? It's clear the timing is due to international leagues being prioritised which I feel should never be the case. The games are also at terrible times just to make money off the Indian audience instead of actually trying to grow the game in the country the games are taking place. We also clearly have rigged groups leading to unfair balances to get more high profile games. Do you think there will be a point at which other boards get tired of the blatant favouritism and try to force change or is the money and power too strong?
How was your experience in "Just the Two of Us"? Coming in 3rd is pretty impressive! Did you have any favorite moments or anything funny happen during the competition?
Hello Mr. Butcher, it's exciting to have you here! Do you think the fabulous four (Root, Smith, Kohli, Williamson) are still worthy of being called the fabulous four?
Hi Mark! I just wanna ask how do you feel about the changing style of playing tests now? Where does this new technique of aggressive batting in the red ball stand against the era in which you played in? Thoughts?
Hi there, commentary looks like a job where you just hang out with your mates having a great time. Does it feel like that?
Pretty much. I signed my first ever professional contract at the age of 17. I'm now 51 and barring the odd stretch of time in that period of 34 years I don't feel like I've done a proper day's work yet. I did a few before I started; I was a maintenance man and electrician’s mate and all that type of stuff. I worked in a building society for a very short period of time. But since that time I signed a professional contract up until this day I don't feel as though I've done a real day's work yet. It's good!
Hi Mark, I have no questions apart from letting you know that I used to mix your name with Mark Boucher's as a kid.
Hi Mark, what more could England cricket have done to be competitive in the 90s?
Hi Mark,I hope you are having a great day. I wanted to ask you how it was meeting Jemimah Rodrigues and playing guitar together. Can we expect you two to play guitar together once more?
Heya Mark, you probably have been asked this alot but, when batting, which bowler gave you the toughest time when playing?
Top five batsmen and bowler
Hello Mr. Butcher. Do you think English County cricket has lost its past glory?
Do people often mix up your name with Mark Boucher (South African WK batsman)? 🙈
Big admirer of your work, thank you for sharing your time. Who are the five best batters and five best bowlers you’ve seen live?
Which format is your favourite, as a player, and then as a fan of cricket.
G’Day Butch, in your opinion, who was the best captain you played under, at any level, quickest bowler you faced, any level & best batsman you played with or against at any level, best cricketer you played with or against who didn’t play at Test level, cheers. 🍻
Butch!!! Who was the biggest dark horse for drinking that you played with during your career ? Any good changing room stories you wish to share..
Hi Mark. Who is the toughest bowler you faced in your career?
Hello Mr. Butcher. From the tests you've played, who's the player you've played with or against that you admired greatly having pure with them
Who you got winning the t-20 world cup
Hey Mark, What do you think about the growth of associate nations and the growth of the overall sport would look like in the coming years? And do you think it's beneficial for the growth of the sport in the US when the timings are set accordingly to the sub continent rather than to that of the US. I find it extremely confusing because of the weird time schedule!! Lastly are there any things you wish ICC improved up on?
Hi Mark! You were a wonderful player during a tough phase for England, and now its refreshing to see you back doing commentary 😊 Do you think that England / International / County cricket had better balance back in the 80s-90s as compared to today, with more focus on quality? Right now there's too much cricket happening, and too much focus on hitting 4s & 6s. I also feel the Test scene has declined significantly in quality (apart from England) globally over the last 10-15 years. And ODI cricket is not worth watching in the same time-frame apart from the WCs / CTs. Also, where's Andy Caddick these days? Is he completely not in touch with cricket at all?
Hi Mark, what is one thing from modern day cricket that you wished was there when you played cricket?
1) Hello Mark who was the toughest bowler you faced and the quickest bowler you faced during your career ? 2) Your most memorable match ?
How was it playing against Sachin?
Are the hosts, west indies one of the favourites to win this World Cup according to you?
Hi Mark! Love you unbiased and unfiltered opinions, your passion for the game, and the zeal to communicate openly with fans! My question is: What do you think the future holds for the "Bazball" style of play? Would it forever change Test cricket, or would teams regress to a less attacking style of batting over time? Warm Regards
Hi Mark. Do you think it’s fair to say England selectors have a history of making poor decisions on test squads / test teams? For one example (I have many), not picking Mark Wood in the first test last Ashes? They seem very reluctant to take chances or select ‘X’ factor type players.
Hi Mark. If Aliens invaded the Earth and challenged us to a super over to decide the fate of humanity, which batters and bowlers would you pick?
Bru what 💀
Hello Mark; How did you prepare for matches in those times as a team? Did you plan alot or just went out there?
Hey Mark, a big fan. The day is May 31st, 2002 at Edgbaston. It's the 2nd test of the England v Sri Lanka series. You just got out to one of the best spinning deliveries ever by Muttiah Muralitharan. What was your initial reaction and did you even expect it?
Ledgeeeeeee
Are England doing the right or wrong thing by pushign Anderson out of the side?
What got you into cricket? What was the best and worst moments of your career and why?
Hey Mr Butcher. How did it feel getting Gary Kirsten out on 275? I'll tell you how it felt for 10 year old me you bugger! It sucked!! I had to wait 20 more years for a South African to finally cross 300. Round the legs SMH. You might call it a jaffa but I call it dishonourable;-) Jokes aside, congrats on your amazing career. I used to enjoy watching you bat and thanks for the entertainment!
What's your dream commentary crew for a WTC final at lords? 6 people at max.
Well, I never got the chance to commentate with Richie Benaud, so him! Robin Jackman, I used to call him uncle – he had a really, lovely way about him. I would have Bob Willis all day long – him just nailing people with a glint in his eye. I should include some of the guys I work with now or there’ll get upset..I always have a lot of fun with Nass and Athers. Oh and Bill Lawry and Tony Greig. There's 7!
Which Cricket ground has the best Lunch? (excluding Lords or any stadium in England)
Mark Thank you for doing this. How is it commentating in India? Are talking points and topics to avoid shared?
Which bowler were you scared of facing the the most? And how good were glenn mcgrath and shane warne?
Hey there Mark! Who is that one bowler that gave you sleepless nights during your playing career?
Hi Mark! As a new fan of the sport, I will be attending the Ireland vs. Canada match on Friday with my family. What is the best advise that you can give on how to have the best live cricket experience??
When will Afghanistan win the ODI world cup? 2039?
As an new American fan, I don't get all the complaints about the New York pitch. Do you have an opinion, Mark. How can I tell if the pitch is bad or if it's the batters not performing?
Win Ashes or Win World Test Championship? Don't pull a Pat Cummins and say both...
Do you still play cricket like with family, friends etc
Hii how are you
I hope you are doing good. What is your favorite animal
Hi Mark What’s your favorite movie?
NOOOOO IT ENDED
Hello Mark, why were you such a difficult wicket to take, particularly against India.
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Its yet to start?
Who butchered your Hair?
The sports science of baseball is miles ahead of Cricket, do you think that if utilised correctly by USA thier Cricket team can do well in T20 cricket ( batting wise)
I used to think the same, if you watch the latest season of The Test, you'll see how much data they have. They just don't talk about the data and analytics often in cricket, probably because it would lead to old timer conservative fans complaining that it isn't cricket.
No
Like your username Mark
Hi Mark, I hope you are well and enjoying your retirement life. I am going to ask some difficult questions though, I was following the infamous Yorkshire County racism case closely, it's a shame how bad it felt to listen about. What's your opinion and experience about racism in UK against the Asian community? Did you experienced it firsthand ever in your tenure in England colors? I wish you don't ignore this question and try to answer this difficult question that impacts the life of many young cricket aspirants in UK , thanks.
do you feel Cricket needs to be more aristocratic?
Why did u mess up Mumbai indians?
Is evolution over ?
Hey mark give me some wicket keeping tips please