MARK NICHOLAS went from Hampshire cricketer to presenter of Survivor, the reality TV show, Phil Tufnell was sounded out for I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!, and now Mark Butcher has made a late bid for the next series of Pop Idol.

The Surrey and England opener spent the weekend in a recording studio making his first CD — a tribute to Ben Hollioake, his former team-mate, who died in a car crash in Australia early last year.

Only hours after getting off the aeroplane after England’s tour to New Zealand last April, Butcher penned You’re Never Gone. A year later, it has become his first single. Initially, the plan is to sell it privately at grounds and through the cricket community. But if the song — “a ballad, with gospelly, bluesy overtones to it” — is heard by the right ears, Butcher is hoping for a foothold in a world more competitive than professional sport.

“The onus is on raising money for the Ben Hollioake Memorial Fund, which supports CHASE (a charity for terminally ill children),” Butcher said. “But I am hoping that someone in the music world hears it and is impressed. It’s something I want to pursue when I have finished playing — even if that means playing in a pub on a Friday night.”

• John Crawley, 31, has been appointed captain of Hampshire as replacement for Robin Smith.