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Cricket
By Ted Corbett
Thorpe cannot find a place in Surrey's side unless the Test players are away but Butcher, for all he has been injured and played only two innings this summer, was in turn watchful and daring, dominant and at ease as he went to his seventh Test hundred and ensured that England made enough runs to put Zimbabwe under pressure for the rest of the first Test. He had begun on day one by exercising caution for almost three hours as he went to 52 and when he restarted this morning he must have been aware that England, on 184 for three, was still in danger of defeat even though the Zimbabwe attack consists of Heath Streak and the new ball with back-up from Price who is also a good change bowler. When Robert Key was given out caught behind, wrongly he seemed to think, at 204 the hutch was wide open and a team with more than one international class bowler might have cleaned up. Instead Butcher dug in. He saw that his new partner Alec Stewart, 40, in his 127th Test and with one eye on critics who think he is past his best, had come to impress and gradually accelerated until he felt confident enough to strike the first over of the new ball for three cover-driven fours to reach 99. We won't even guess why Streak gave Sean Ervine the new ball after his trundling overs on the first day but he was immediately replaced by Andy Blignaut, the more obvious choice. Butcher sneaked a single and for once we could hear the dignified Lord's applause above the screams of schoolchildren here at the invitation of the England and Wales Cricket Board and, of course, the subject of much tut-tutting from behind MCC ties and blazers. His second century in successive Tests had filled five hours while he faced 202 balls and hit 15 fours. The first bad light of the day halted play at the end of the over and by the time lunch was taken at 270 for four the first rain of the day was soaking the re-laid outfield; looking beautiful, and so soft that aching feet were forgotten and the lettering was still on the ball after the first day's play. As Butcher moved on it was easier to see him in the role of an England hero. He has already won a Test with a big innings, against Australia at Leeds two years ago, and scored a century in the victory in the final Test last winter but he has yet to stamp his mark on the game in the way Marcus Trescothick, Thorpe and, most recently, Michael Vaughan have. A glitch in his personal life has not helped Butcher's concentration but now that his matrimonial worries are behind him, as well as 3,000 Test runs, he ought to be at the start of his most productive era. Stewart, playing in his 19th Lord's Test, made 26 before he was caught behind at 274, but the debutant Anthony McGrath took root and when Butcher hit a six over mid wicket off Ray Price he was on course for a big score. His short-arm jab through point was working smoothly, the Zimbabwe attack Friendly in name and nature and McGrath beginning to wonder why Test cricket was so highly rated. Butcher's long knock came to an end at 342 when he drove a full toss to mid on but his 137 had made the point that he was a No.3 fit to anchor England's innings for five years and when McGrath reached fifty in 69 balls it was clear he was worth a second look.
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