The art of seizing the day

"I'm a bit gutted at the moment," was Mark Butcher's typically unguarded reaction, as he sat out the first Test at Lord's with whiplash, and watched his understudy, Robert Key, race away to a brilliant 221. Coming from anyone else, that comment might have been interpreted as a little bit uncharitable, but Butcher is not that type of guy. He has an open mind, and he tends to speak it as well, and after 42 consecutive Tests, in which he has developed into England's most prolific No. 3 since David Gower, he was entitled to feel a little put out.

Butcher was not speaking out of jealousy, but out of genuine concern, for a strange and welcome transformation has occurred to Team England since he last missed a Test match. Back in 2001, when Butcher was recalled to face the Australians, it was on a hunch and little else. England's leading batsmen were dropping like flies, and with the likes of Ian Ward and Usman Afzaal already in the team as representatives of the new generation, there was little alternative but to turn back to a player who, in spite of a horrendous loss of form, had at least experienced some success in his previous series against the Aussies.

As we all know, Butcher went on to play the innings of his life at Headingley, and has been quietly going about his business ever since. But, for the time being at least, he represents the last of a breed. These days, the only looking-back is being done by the players themselves, as they size up the queue of pretenders vying for their places. It is not a habit that the management has taken to. There was the briefest of exceptions to this rule last summer, when Martin Bicknell made a triumphantly short-lived return to shore up an injury-ravaged attack, but for the most part, it has been a case of onwards and upwards.

This can largely be attributed to the long-term outlook of Duncan Fletcher, who insists on giving his players time to prove themselves, and backs them to overcome any temporary losses of form, such as the one Ashley Giles suffered in Bangladesh, or Marcus Trescothick in the Caribbean. Quite apart from forging an enviable team bond, this attitude has forced the newcomers to be all the hungrier for success when their breakthrough finally happens, and last week, for the second Lord's Test running, a new boy announced his arrival with a splash of depth-charge proportions.

Unlike Andrew Strauss, the coming of Key was not an instant success, but he has never been far from England's thoughts since the 2002-03 Ashes, and now that he is England's incumbent No. 3, the same privileges and conditions will surely apply. It is all incredibly tough luck on Butcher, but these are the perils of life at the top. England, the official second-best team in the world, may not be used to such an embarrassment of riches to choose from, but as Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden and Damien Martyn would all agree, time on the sidelines is something that even the best players have to put up with, if the goal of their team is world domination.

Nasser Hussain, who knows a thing or two about the hunger of England's youth brigade, yesterday backed Butcher to make a successful and sustained return to the side, and rightly so, because if there is one thing that England have learnt since 2001, it is the danger of complacency. Michael Vaughan and Graham Thorpe, who managed just one Test between them in the 2001 Ashes series, have recently been prone to worrying knee and back problems, and with England you can never quite tell what will prompt the next domino effect.

Butcher's misfortune could therefore be to England's distinct advantage. Not only has it given them a chance to blood another promising young batsman, it also sends out a very potent reminder to the entire team that is it vital for each player to seize the day. No matter that England walloped West Indies in the first Test - it was still a flawed performance, particularly on the second day, that a more skilful opponent might have exploited.

With that in mind, Butcher might care to reflect on Key's insatiable appetite for runs and come back with a similar splash - aside from his Headingley masterpiece, he has not exceeded 137 in any of his other seven Test centuries, and against Bangladesh and New Zealand recently, he salvaged his series with a contribution at the very last minute.

It is a minor criticism, but a major lesson, and the rest of the side might care to reflect on the fickle nature of fate. There's no room for resting on any laurels at the moment.