Former Test batsman Mark Butcher is convinced that playing in the Indian Premier League can do more than improve the bank balances of England's top cricketers.

Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff and perhaps as many as six of their colleagues are in line for big cheques, with Pietersen likely to earn around £500,000 for three weeks' work in April following a compromise deal thrashed out with the ECB at Lord's.

The arrangement, which still has to be formally approved by the IPL, means Pietersen and Co will return from India less than a week before the First Test against West Indies.

Surrey captain Butcher, though, sees potential advantages for England, certainly so far as their one-day cricket is concerned and especially ahead of June's Twenty20 World Cup.

"To me, the money has nothing to do with it," said Butcher. "If somebody is willing to pay it and the best players in the world are going then if I was in the position of people like Pietersen and Flintoff I would be pretty fed up if I wasn't involved.

"Playing in the IPL certainly seems to have improved the games of other international players and it would be great if it did the same for our guys.

"I watched West Indies playing a one-day international against New Zealand, saw Shivnarine Chanderpaul reverse sweeping medium-pacers, and thought that's the type of thing the IPL is doing for even classical cricketers like him.

"And we all saw the confidence the Indian players had when beating England 5-0 before Christmas.

"It seems to me when you take people out of the international environment and put them into different teams, as with the IPL, they are willing to try things.

"Our one-day form hasn't really changed much over the years. Sometimes everything will click and the team will play well and win, but you don't ever really see England playing in a different or more dynamic way from game to game. It always seems to be pretty much the same."

Pietersen, Flintoff and Paul Collingwood seem certain to be bought when the eight IPL franchises are able to bid at the next auction on 6 February but players such as Stuart Broad, Samit Patel, Owais Shah, Luke Wright and Ravi Bopara could also figure.

Collingwood said: "If we go we will be playing against the best in the world. The actual cricket will not tire us out too much. Twenty20 is not like playing Test cricket."