{"id":192723,"date":"2026-07-11T10:23:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T15:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=192723"},"modified":"2026-07-11T10:23:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T15:53:43","slug":"mark-butcher-smriti-mandhana-reminds-me-of-david-gower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=192723","title":{"rendered":"Mark Butcher: Smriti Mandhana reminds me of David Gower"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

Mark Butcher keeps his word. \u201cI will find you in half an hour,\u201d he says. He sure does.<\/p>\n

He says a lot more over the next half an hour. And you are fascinated. He is a sharp analyst of the game, and very articulate.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, his comparison of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s batting style with that of the great Gary Sobers had attracted much attention. \u201cI watched him make that 175 (off 80 balls) in the Under-19 Cup final (against England at Harare). \u201cThe incredible long high back-lift, the huge follow through, the complete circle almost where the bat finishes around\u2026You know, Sobers used to hit a lot of shots with his feet together,\u201d he told Sportstar <\/i>on the sidelines of a historic maiden women\u2019s Test at Lord\u2019s.<\/p>\n

He believes what Sooryanshi has achieved already is extraordinary. \u201cEven if his career ends up not reaching the expectations that other people have, which I think is very unlikely, he has still done something at the IPL all of the greatest players have never done before,\u201d he points out. \u201cNone of them have managed to score a strike rate of 230, hit that many sixes, be that consistent in the entirety of the IPL.\u201d<\/p>\n

ALSO READ | Isa Guha: We used to be curtain raiser for men, now women\u2019s cricket has huge stage<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Butcher, himself a left-hander who played some brilliant Test hundreds for England including an unforgettable match-winning 173 against Australia at Headingley in 2001, enjoys watching another left-hander. \u201cSmriti Mandhana is just an incredibly graceful player,\u201d he says. Very, very lovely to watch. She reminds me of David Gower.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues are also among his favourite batters. He shares his passion for music with Jemimah. They have, in fact, jammed together on guitar. \u201cI like listening to Indian music, too,\u201d he says. \u201cI enjoy all kinds of music, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking back at his career, in which he scored 4288 runs from 71 Tests, against some of the best bowlers of all time, he says the innings at Headingley will always remain closest to his heart. \u201cWe won\u2019t be talking if not for that innings,\u201d says Butcher. \u201cMy main memory is about that summer, really. I wasn\u2019t expecting to play Test cricket again. I went to my father and he completely changed my batting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Published on Jul 11, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Butcher keeps his word. \u201cI will find you in half an hour,\u201d he says. He sure does. He says a lot more over the next half an hour. And you are fascinated. He is a sharp analyst of the game, and very articulate. Earlier this year, his comparison of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s batting style with … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":192724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mark.butcher.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":177851,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=177851","url_meta":{"origin":192723,"position":0},"title":"Manav Suthar\u2019s biggest strength is the ability to impart revs on the ball, says Washington Sundar","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"June 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Washington Sundar termed the ability to impart revs on the ball as Manav Suthar\u2019s biggest strength after the debutant picked three wickets on the second day of the one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh. 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