Butcher: I was going to quit cricket before 2001 Ashes heroics

Twenty-five years on from his colossal unbeaten 173 vs Australia in the 2001 Ashes, Mark Butcher reflects on nearly giving up cricket, how he turned his game around and playing alongside Nasser Hussain; watch England vs Pakistan live on Sky Sports Cricket

Mark Butcher was on the verge of hanging up his bat, but one fateful summer in 2001 changed everything.

Amid personal challenges away from the pitch and a slump in form, the England batter became so frustrated with his game that he admitted he even began to "hate" cricket.

"How lucky everything was for me that summer," Butcher told Sky Sports Cricket. "I'd had a very rubbish time of things, which were my fault."

Prior to 2000, Butcher had been an established member of England's Test squad, having won 27 caps, but after struggling with his game, he was dropped following England's 1999-2000 winter tour of South Africa.

It was a phone call to his dad around Christmas in 2000 that paved the way for his sensational return, and one of the greatest innings ever struck by an English Test batsman on home soil.

"I was lucky that my dad was a brilliant batting coach. I was going to quit the game," Butcher, who spent over two months rebuilding his technique, said.

"I called him and asked if he could remodel the way I batted and make it feel as though I had a chance to start enjoying things.

"I was working on everything. I had come to the end of the road with it. I was hating it.

"I changed my grip, stance, went back to year zero and rebuilt everything from nothing.

"Because I was in such a bad place with it all, I didn't disagree with my dad's coaching at any point."

England had been struck by a series of injuries in the build-up to the first Test of the 2001 Ashes series in Birmingham, with Michael Vaughan, Graham Thorpe and Mark Ramprakash all unavailable for selection for the opening match.

Butcher, who had worked his way back into Surrey's first team, was subsequently recalled by England captain Nasser Hussain.

He played in the first three Tests as England went 3-0 down in the series. Apart from an 83 in the second Test at Lord's, Butcher struggled to find big scores. He admitted Hussain "probably should have dropped me" for the fourth Test in Leeds.