Arif Butt

Arif Butt (Urdu: عارف بٹ; 17 May 1944 – 11 July 2007) was a Pakistani Test cricketer.

Born in Lahore, Punjab, Butt made his first-class debut for Lahore against Punjab University 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.[1] 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.[2]

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",[3] 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 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.[4]