Ian Gareth Butler (born 24 November 1981) is a New Zealand

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who has dual UK citizenship. Butler was born in

Middlemore Middlemore is a suburb of the former Manukau City, one of the four cities that made up the conurbation of Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It ...

in the

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

urban area. He has represented

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in all three formats of the game internationally. He is currently the bowling coach of

Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL), also known as HBL PSL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan, organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Founded by the PCB in 2015, the league features six city-bas ...

franchise

Islamabad United Islamabad United () is a Pakistani professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The team is based in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, and was formed in 2015 to compete in the first ...

Domestic career

At the age of 17, he had his first professional contract with Penrith in Lake District. The following year, he played for Purley in London. He played for Northern Districts between 2001 and 2008 before moving to

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

, representing them in the 2009 Champions League Twenty20 in India. He had stints in English county cricket with

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

in 2003 and

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

in 2004. In 2007 Butler played for Harborne Cricket Club in Birmingham, and coached some boys from King Edward's School Birmingham, Edgbaston. In 2008 he again played for Harborne Cricket Club, as well as Lashings Cricket Club in London. He then re-signed for Gloucestershire in the

2010 Friends Provident t20 The 2010 Friends Provident t20 tournament was the eighth edition of what would later become the T20 Blast, England's premier domestic Twenty20 cricket competition. The competition ran from 1 June 2010 until the finals day at The Rose Bowl on 1 ...

tournament. In 2014 Butler signed for Northamptonshire.

International career

Although overshadowed by express speedster

Shane Bond Shane Edward Bond (born 7 June 1975) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricketer and present bowling coach of Rajasthan Royals, described as "New Zealand's best fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee", and often among the greatest fast b ...

, Butler's fast bowling has proved a potent force in itself. His ability to get lift from benign surfaces winning him a test best 6 for 46 against

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in 2004. Following a series of back injuries, he failed to establish himself as an automatic selection in an increasingly strong New Zealand side and has not appeared in first class cricket since December 2014 though he is still active in one day cricket for Northern Districts. Butler was recalled to the New Zealand squad in early 2009, and played in a

Twenty20 International Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...

against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, going on to play in the 2009 and 2010 ICC World Twenty20 tournaments in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

Retirement

In 2014, Butler announced his retirement from cricket. In January 2022, Butler accepted the role of Director of Cricket at C.I.Y.M.S. Cricket Club in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland.

Coaching career

In March 2025, he joined

franchise

as bowling coach replacing

Azhar Mahmood Azhar Mahmood (; born 28 February 1975) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer. He was the bowling coach of the Pakistani national cricket team from 2016 to 2019. He was a part of the Pakistan squad which finished as runners-up at t ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Ian 1981 births Living people Gloucestershire cricketers Kent cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand One Day International cricketers New Zealand Twenty20 International cricketers New Zealand cricketers Northern Districts cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers Otago cricketers Northamptonshire cricketers New Zealand expatriate cricketers in England North Island cricketers