Arif Butt ( ur, عارف بٹ; May 17, 1944 – July 11, 2007) was a Pakistani

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...

er. Born in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

, Butt made his first-class debut for

against Punjab University in 1960-61 at the age of 16. He learned his cricket at the Friends Cricket Club of

, coached by his uncle Khawaja Abdur Rab, and went on to play first-class cricket for

Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways ( ur, ) is the national, state-owned railway company of Pakistan. Founded in 1861 and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of track across Pakistan, stretching from Torkham to Karachi, offering both freight and passenger servi ...

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 Abd al-Qadir or Abdulkadir ( ar, عبد القادر) is a male Muslim given name. It is formed from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and '' Qadir''. The name means "servant of the powerful", ''Al-Qādir'' being one of the names of God in the ...

, 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 Intikhab Alam Khan (Urdu:) (born 28 December 1941) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played in 47 Test matches and four One Day Internationals from 1959 to 1977. He captained Pakistan in 17 Tests between 1969 and 1975. He a ...

, 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 Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

in the 1966–67

Quaid-i-Azam Trophy The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition in Pakistan. With few exceptions, it has been staged annually since it was first played during the 1953–54 season. Domestic cricket in Pakistan has undergone many reorganis ...

final and, in 1973-74, captained Railways to victory in the

Patron's Trophy The Patron's Trophy was a cricket competition that was held in Pakistan between 1960–61 and 2018–19 mainly among teams representing the government and semi-government departments, corporations, commercial organisations, business houses, banks, ...

and the Quaid-e-Azam trophy. He took 6 for 55 against Sindh in the Quaid final and scored 718 runs in that season, including a career best 180 as an opening bat against

. His best bowling figures were 8 for 45 for Railways against

Sargodha Sargodha (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Punjab province, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 12th largest city by population and one of the fastest-growing cities of the country. Sargodha is also known as t ...

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 Sarfraz Nawaz Malik ( Punjabi, ur, ) (born 1 December 1948) is a former Pakistani Test cricketer and politician, who was instrumental in Pakistan's first Test series victories over India and England. Between 1969 and 1984, he played 55 Tests ...

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

See also

References

External links