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Arif Butt

1944 – 2007

Cricketer

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About Arif Butt

Lived 1944 – 2007 (aged 63). Arif Butt was a Pakistani and Indian cricketer.

Arif Butt (; 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. 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 as "many felt he should've played many more", taking 12 wickets at 54.50 in nine matches.

He was a handy lower-order batsman, demonstrated by a first-class career average of 29, four hundreds and over 4,000 runs.

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Important facts

People in Arif Butt's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

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Frequently asked questions

Who was Arif Butt?

cricketer (1944-2007)

When was Arif Butt born?

Arif Butt was born on 17 May 1944 in Lahore.

When did Arif Butt die?

Arif Butt died on 11 July 2007 in Lahore.

What was Arif Butt's occupation?

Arif Butt was a cricketer.

What nationality was Arif Butt?

Arif Butt was Pakistani and Indian.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Arif Butt

· Wikidata: Q4790535

· DBpedia: Arif Butt

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Arif Butt. https://biography.guide/arif-butt/

MLA: "Arif Butt." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/arif-butt/.

Chicago: "Arif Butt." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/arif-butt/.

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