Mark Butcher has questioned England’s decision to not replace injured skipper Ben Stokes with a like-to-like seam all-rounder vs Sri Lanka.

Mark Butcher has questioned England’s decision to not replace injured skipper Ben Stokes with a like-for-like seam all-rounder in the squad for the Sri Lanka Tests, leaving the team unbalanced.

England announced their playing XI for the first Test against Sri Lanka, replacing Stokes with Matthew Potts with Chris Woakes slated to bat at No.7. The hosts have pushed Dan Lawrence to open the batting alongside Ben Duckett with Ollie Pope named England’s captain.

Stokes’ injury has forced England to go in with four specialist bowlers with Woakes, who has a batting average of 27.76 with a high score of 137* batting up a spot. The Warwickshire all-rounder has batted above No.8 just ten times in his career and never after August 2020.

This decision has been questioned by Butcher, who, on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, said: "The only question is the decision to replace Ben Stokes with a like-for-like type player and decide to once again unbalance the team with three out-and-out seam bowlers and one spinner. Not having that fallback position of having a genuine all-rounder in the side.”

Butcher went on to suggest that England should have picked Sam Curran, who last played a Test match three years ago. Curran fizzled away after an exceptional start to his career in the longest format but continues to show his potential in white-ball cricket.

“There's a certain bloke who with Test match experience behind him seems to have rediscovered the Midas touch that made him Player of the Tournament in that World Cup not so long ago,” he said. “I think in a standing role he would have done a perfectly good job replacing Stokes as a like-for-like batting at six and bowling a handful of overs per innings when they were needed and that would be Sam Curran but they've decided not to do that."

Butcher wary of England over bowling Mark Wood

Butcher also remains wary of England overusing Wood, who is often prone to injuries, in the absence of a seam all-rounder and if Sri Lanka put up a fight with the bat. Woakes and Wood are the two most experienced fast bowlers in the XI, with the other seamers Gus Atkinson and Potts having played a combined nine Tests.

Wood injured his left knee earlier this year, making a comeback in the T20I series against Pakistan at the end of May. He was also forced to walk off the field against West Indies at Trent Bridge last month, but it was later diagnosed as cramps due to fatigue. “Regardless of whether they go with the extra all-rounder, the thing that worries me is [Mark] Wood,” Butcher said.

“Don't want to see him injured, don't want to see him having to do too much work. He could end up doing too much work in one Test match is what I'm saying. Given that England will have that one less seam bowler, and I know that Stokes doesn't bowl a massive amount anyway but when he does he'll bowl a session for you which could be the difference between a fit Mark Wood at the end of it or a broken Mark Wood at the end of it and that's the one thing I'm thinking is something that leaves the attack exposed.”

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