Following Dan Lawrence's recall to England's Test squad this week, Mark Butcher has labelled the decision to use him as the sole spinner in England's XI as 'nonsense'.
Lawrence was recalled to England's Test squad for the first time in two years for the opening two games of their series against Pakistan later this month. He will bat at No.6 and is likely to be the lead spinner in the side, with Shoaib Bashir set to miss out to allow England to play four specialist pacers. Lawrence will replace Ben Stokes in the side following his retirement, as England grapple with how to balance the side in the absence of the premier seam-bowling all-rounder.
"The 16-man squad is, well it's either very comprehensive or it's incomprehensible, trying to cover lots and lots of bases and trying to cover the three men that Ben Stokes was in the team," said Butcher, speaking on Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast.
"My first take is 'good luck Joe [Root],' really, because you're in that position that many England captains have been in before, and Joe himself was over much of his 65-Test match period in charge, whereby Ben Stokes was the all-rounder then and has until recently been now. When he is not available in England teams that rely on having four seamers plus a spinner for the balance of the team, it's nigh on impossible."
Butcher: Dan Lawrence is not a Test match spin bowler
Lawrence is the latest spin-bowling all-rounder selected to deepen England's batting and cover in the absence of a specialist spinner. Will Jacks was picked over Bashir in the winter Ashes series, while Bethell, who is unavailable for the Pakistan series through injury, has also played a role with the ball during his Test career so far.
"I think the Dan Lawrence thing as spin cover along with Joe Root is a bit of a nonsense," said Butcher. "Again, I will reiterate that it's not because I don't think Dan Lawrence is a very good cricketer, I just don't think he's a Test match spin bowler. So that's where that comes from."
"... There is still the thought that you could have picked one of the two leg-spinning all-rounders in [Calvin] Harrison, or Rehan Ahmed as to be a genuine spin bowler who could bat at seven. Of the two of those I think Harrison is probably the better bowler. But, again, it does leave you short as far as the batting is concerned.
"So it's a conundrum that will run and run until such a time as perhaps Sam Curran is fit, because I know they were very keen to having him in the squad and would have done had he not had that recent injury which has meant that his availability as a bowler has been a little bit under question. Although I noticed that he did bowl last night [in The Hundred]."
England national selector Marcus North said during the announcement of the squad that Curran is "certainly a player of interest" and that he would have been in the squad had he not picked up an injury during The Hundred.
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