Arif Butt ( ur, عارف بٹ; May 17, 1944 – July 11, 2007) was a Pakistani
Test cricketer.
Born in
Lahore,
Punjab, Butt made his
first-class debut for
Lahore against
Punjab University Punjab University may refer to:
India
* Punjab Agricultural University, a state agricultural university in Ludhiana, Punjab
* I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, a State university in Jalandhar, Punjab
* Panjab University, a public collegia ...
in 1960-61 at the age of 16. He learned his cricket at the Friends Cricket Club of
Lahore, coached by his uncle Khawaja Abdur Rab, and went on to play first-class cricket for
Pakistan Railways from 1962-63 until his retirement after the 1977-78 season. He was a tall fast-medium bowler and useful batsman.
He made his Test debut for Pakistan at
Melbourne in 1964-65, taking 6 for 89 in the first innings, becoming the first Pakistani to take 6 wickets on Test debut. He also opened the batting in the Pakistan's second innings, in place of injured wicket keeper
Abdul Kadir, making 12 and defying the Australian new ball attack for almost an hour.
In the tour of New Zealand that followed, Butt played in the first two of the three Tests, taking 7 wickets at 24.28. In what turned out to be his last Test innings, in partnership with
Intikhab Alam, he added 52 runs for the ninth wicket to help secure a close-fought draw.
He bowled a hostile bouncer and a genuine leg cutter and was considered unlucky to play only three Tests at a time when Pakistan often struggled to find effective fast bowlers. He toured England in 1967 but "flopped completely", taking 12 wickets at 54.50 in nine matches.
He scored a defiant maiden century against
Karachi in the 1966–67
Quaid-i-Azam Trophy final and, in 1973-74, captained Railways to victory in the
Patron's Trophy and the Quaid-e-Azam trophy. He took 6 for 55 against
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
in the Quaid final and scored 718 runs in that season, including a career best 180 as an opening bat against
Punjab. His best bowling figures were 8 for 45 for Railways against
Sargodha in 1972-73.
He died from heart and lung complications arising from diabetes. His funeral in Lahore was attended by a host of former cricketers and officials including
Sarfraz Nawaz.
See also
*
List of Pakistan cricketers who have taken five-wicket hauls on Test debut
References
External links
Arif Butt at Cricket Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butt, Arif
1944 births
2007 deaths
Pakistan Test cricketers
Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut
Pakistani cricketers
Lahore cricketers
Lahore A cricketers
Pakistan Railways cricketers
Central Zone (Pakistan) cricketers
North Zone (Pakistan) cricketers