Former England batter Mark Butcher has questioned skipper Ben Stokes' decision to drop to number seven in the batting order for the first Test against New Zealand, beginning at Lord's on Thursday. Speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, Butcher said the move only made sense if Stokes intended to take the new ball — a tactical pivot he called ‘viable and valid'.

Stokes' shifting batting role

Stokes has batted only 17 times out of 216 innings in Tests at number seven, compared with 131 times at number six. His returns with the bat have dipped since the 2023 Ashes, averaging 28.17 across 23 matches, with one century and seven fifties in that window.

‘Why does he need to drop down to seven? I don't understand it. I wonder whether that's a move because Stokes has decided, I'm our best bowler, I'm going to take the new ball, which would not be the maddest thing in the world at all. That to me is a viable and valid option as far as the guys we've got,' Butcher said.

The Botham parallel

Butcher drew a comparison with the all-rounder template of the 1980s. ‘I'm thinking a very long way back to the eighties when Beefy (Ian Botham) bestrode the earth, and quite often he would bat five and open the bowling in the Test team. He was in the thick of everything. Always. I would rather see Ben at six and get back to his very best with the bat,' he said.

Why six suits Stokes better

According to Butcher, Stokes at six gives England's line-up balance against more attacking batters around him. ‘When he is playing well, in terms of skill and in terms of temperament, he provides a perfect ballast to the more dashing players around the order. You've got (Joe) Root, who will play at a regular tempo,' he noted.

‘We don't know what Emilio Gay is going to do, so Root at No.4 playing a regular Test match tempo, Stokes at six playing a regular Test match tempo but able to up it when he's at his best, and then (Jamie) Smith at seven in the Gilchrist role, which he's performed so well, Ashes aside, in Test matches at home,' Butcher added. He suggested the No.7 move becomes more plausible if pacer Sonny Baker plays and Stokes opens the bowling.

Disbelief over Archer's absence

Butcher also expressed disbelief at Jofra Archer's omission from the Lord's Test, with the pacer having been with the Rajasthan Royals through Qualifier 2 of IPL 2026. ‘I do not understand why you would have an asset that you pay an enormous amount of money to, and you're not expecting them to show up and be a 12th man. I just don't get it,' he said.

‘I'm baffled, and I also wish I were playing now. I can't understand it. I can't understand how there is a justification for it. My point is I'm not slagging off Jofra Archer, I'm just in disbelief. There are only six Test matches in the summer; if you don't play the first two, then there are four left,' Butcher added.

What's next

England are scheduled to play two more Tests against New Zealand — at The Oval on 17 June and Trent Bridge on 25 June. The Lord's opener will be the first real test of Stokes' reshuffled order and whether his new-ball plans materialise.