Mark Butcher told Sky Sports News HD that Jos Buttler's strength and subtlety will improve England's ODI side.
Somerset's Buttler knows how to pace a one-day innings, says Butch
Mark Butcher told
Sky Sports News that Jos Buttler is the perfect man to inject some venom into England's 50-over batting line-up.
The Somerset tyro has been called into the party for the four-match series with Pakistan which begins in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
See the full squad here
Buttler, 21, averaged 137 during his county's run to the final of last year's Clydesdale Bank 40, while he has played a starring role for the England Lions during winter tours of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
And ex-England batsman Butcher believes the Taunton-born star's power and guile can be a major asset towards the culmination of the innings.
"I saw a lot of Jos Buttler last year and he is a fabulous ball striker," said Butcher, who failed to make a one-day appearance for England despite figuring in 71 Test matches.
"He's very inventive and has a lot of different shots, but he's also brilliant at timing a one-day innings. He doesn't panic when he gets to the end of the innings and he sees it home.
"He's pretty fearless and he gets the ball over the boundary which England really struggled with at the back end of the innings in India."
Stroke player
Ian Bell has been omitted from the squad after amassing 51 runs in six innings during England's 3-0 Test series defeat to Pakistan.
However, Butcher believes the Warwickshire man should not be boarding the plane home but playing an integral role at the top of England's one-day order.
"If we look back to the World Cup in India, Ian Bell would have been my choice to open the batting, added the
Sky Sports pundit.
"I think he's one of England's best stroke players but he needs to be in the top order, when the ball is a little bit harder.
"When he bats at three for England in the Test side he looks fantastic, but he was down at five here and struggled against the turning ball."
Temperament
Hampshire's Danny Briggs could make his one-day bow after joining fellow spinners Graeme Swann and Samit Patel in the 16-man troop.
Butcher reckons the 20-year-old has the ability to thrive in international cricket, while he also thinks England should select all three of their twirlers on the spin-friendly UAE wickets.
Of Briggs, he added: "He is a promising young player; he's got a good temperament, he's tall and he bowls his left-arm spinners quickly, which we saw Monty Panesar do with great success in the Test series.
"It wouldn't surprise me if Pakistan bowl somewhere in the region of 35-40 overs of spin at England in this series," added Butcher. "England would do well to play three spinners of their own."
Click here for David Lloyd and Sir Ian Botham's views on England's ODI side.
