Former England international Mark Butcher branded the decision to promote Steve Smith to the top of Australia’s batting order “risky business” as voices in the UK grappled with the shock news.

Smith was confirmed as retired Australian Test opener David Warner’s replacement on Wednesday and won’t need long to see how he fares as the Aussies take on the West Indies in a two-match Test series.

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The 34-year-old’s shift to an opening role also opened up a spot for Cameron Green to slot back into the order at No. 4, a position he has batted at for Western Australia but not at Test level.

Butcher, who made 71 Test appearances for England, believes the decision to hand Smith the opening role alongside Usman Khawaja could be the jolt his career needs.

However, he felt a big question mark surrounding Green’s credentials remains.

“This (Smith) is a legend of a player with a huge amount of Test match runs and experience behind him,” Butcher told Wisden Cricket Weekly.

“On a positive note from his side, perhaps he’s talked about it as well, the edge has gone out of him a little bit in terms of run scoring and he wanted another challenge.

“This is a chance to reinvent himself in what is a very difficult position at the top of the order. That’s the positive side from it.