Butcher aiming for England recall

Mark Butcher has had surgery twice on his injured wrist, but is still aiming to get back into the England side © Getty Images

Mark Butcher has said he hasn't yet given up on playing for England again, despite not representing his country for over a year.

Butcher, 33, has been sidelined since injuring his wrist during England's successful tour of South Africa during the winter of 2004. He played just five games for Surrey in the summer, missing the Ashes series and England's tour of Pakistan. Having recently undergone further surgery, he is also out of contention for the upcoming tour to India; England are due to announce their squad on Friday.

"It's been giving me a lot of trouble but hopefully this time it's sorted it out once and for all," he told BBC Sport. "I'll start using the bat again around the middle of February so - fingers crossed - I'll be ready for the beginning of the season. Obviously the main thing is to get fit first but ultimately (an England place) is always the goal."

In his absence, younger players such as Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen have settled into the middle-order and, with the likes of Alastair Cook and Ed Joyce knocking on the door, Butcher's chances of a recall appear limited. Butcher, however, is critical of the soft dismissals of some of England's batsmen during their tour of Pakistan:

"We gave away a lot of soft dismissals and didn't give ourselves a chance to post big scores," he said. "If they'd just managed to keep their heads a bit better on the last day of the first Test match they probably would have won the series in Pakistan."

"As soon as you go a Test down in a three-match series over there it's difficult because you have to chase the game. It just goes to show that while winning the Ashes was an amazing achievement there's still a lot of work to be done before you can say we're the best side in the world."