(LONDON) Channel 4 commentator and former captain Michael Atherton has backed Mark Butcher to be the next man in charge of the England team.

Current skipper Nasser Hussain recently intimated that his expiry date would be breached by the end of next summer.

Opening pair Marcus Trescothick, the current vice-captain, and Michael Vaughan have been touted as the two front-runners for the job.

Atherton, though, believes that duo should concentrate on cementing England's finest first-wicket partnership for a generation while the new mature Butcher, 30 last week, takes the reins.

''It looks like it is out of those three and I think the bookies' favourite is Trescothick.

''My own personal choice would be Mark Butcher, I just think he has got a good cricket brain,'' said Atherton, who played one of his 115 Tests under Butcher's captaincy, during a series against New Zealand three years ago.

The Surrey left-hander, who has endured some turmoil off the field that led indirectly to his loss of form and subsequent axing after the tour to South Africa in 2000, returned to the international scene last summer to outstanding effect.

His match-winning 173 not out against Australia at Headingley is an innings unlikely to be forgotten by anyone who witnessed it.

Since straightening out his personal life, his reincarnation as a Test batsman has been a happy one, in which he averages 46.34.

''He's in prime form, old enough to have seen some of the vagaries of the game and experienced some of the ups and downs,'' Atherton added at a Sports Writers' Association lunch in central London.

''I would like Trescothick and Vaughan to flourish at the top of the order. They should be left to concentrate on that.

''Butch has been through a bad run of form and left out of the team, he's seen things outside of the game which have affected his life and he's come through.''

England are still entrenched in an increasingly difficult series with India, whom they face at the Oval next week with the score 1-1.

Yet with an Ashes tour on the horizon, Atherton admits as a former England captain that thoughts are never far away from battle plans against the Australians.

That is why Andrew Flintoff is having surgery on his troublesome groin this week and why Darren Gough, who has not played a Test since the last Ashes, is to spend a month at Lilleshall in a desperate attempt to declare himself fit.

To compete with the undisputed kings of world cricket, England need every one of their top players available.

As it stands, the positions of premier batsman Graham Thorpe, who is still in self-imposed exile, and indeed Gough, whose troublesome knee will decide for him, are unclear.

Thorpe, 33, will not play again this season in an attempt to spend more time with his young children Henry and Amelia, following his divorce from wife Nicky.

The England management have given him the chance to notify them whether he intends to put his name forward for the winter Test programme, however.

''He is still the best player in the team and the one the Australians rate the most,'' said Atherton. ''They think of him as being our only world-class player.

''If he is fit and half-focused he is not right, I think you take him if he is fully focused. If Graham is fit he is an automatic pick for the selectors.''

Of Gough, England's seventh-highest wicket-taker in Test history, Atherton said: ''If he is anywhere near fit they can take him and rely on back-up from the academy. It will be good for him if he can get fully fit over the next month and I think the selectors will take a risk on him.''

England lost 4-1 last summer when injuries undermined their challenge and Atherton led the team twice in Hussain's absence.

This summer, however, Hussain's team has competed competently with Sri Lanka and India with Gough, Thorpe, Trescothick and Andrew Caddick out of the reckoning.

A new batch of fast bowlers has emerged and Atherton believes England have a better chance of running the Australians close.

''I think we will do rather better than people expect, I've played under Duncan Fletcher and been very impressed by what he has done as coach. The team is definitely moving in the right direction.''

Zimbabwean Fletcher will begin talks about a new contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board next Monday.

And Atherton believes he should be given a free hand to choose his number of centrally-contracted players, the identities of whom are set to be revealed on September 10.

Atherton first mooted the idea of central contracts in his end-of-series report from South Africa seven years' ago.

''I hold him in the highest regard and I hope the ECB can capture his services for the foreseeable future,'' said Atherton.

''They should go with what Duncan Fletcher wants because he's an extremely clear-sighted coach with a long-term vision. I think they should give him his hand and let him do what he wants, I am very impressed by his handling of the team.''

28 Aug, 2002