LAHORE, July 11: Former Test cricketer Arif Butt, 64, who died here late Tuesday night, was laid to rest at a local graveyard on Wednesday. Arif, a talented all-rounder who played three Test matches for Pakistan during the 1960s, had been afflicted by serious health problems of late which related to heart and lungs. Only last month, Arif had complained about the callous attitude of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials towards him to which the board had responded by assuring him of bearing all his medical expenses besides releasing his pension as an exceptional case.
Arif, who made headlines by taking six wickets for 89 runs in his debut Test against Australia at Melbourne in 1964-65, was a fairly good batsman too and, in fact, was sent in to open the second innings of the same Test.
His career, however, was cut short by what he termed as ‘dirty politics’ of the game. Dejected by it all, he gave up the game early to concentrate on his job in the Railways.
To his credit, Arif found a place in the Pakistan team when he was just 19 and rubbed shoulders with fabulous cricketers such as Hanif Mohammad, Saeed Ahmed, Javed Burki, Mohammad Ilyas, Intikhab Alam, Asif Iqbal, Farooq Hameed and many others in those days.
A good number of former Test cricketers including Saleem Altaf, Mohammad Ilyas, chief selector Salahuddin ‘Sallu’ besides several PCB staff members attended his funeral on Wednesday.
Saleem Altaf, paying rich tribute to Arif, said he was a fine cricketer whose career, unfortunately, could not blossom the way it should have in the ‘60s. “He almost perfected the hook shot and his effective line and length and leg-cutters were a treat to watch,” recalled Saleem.
Mohammad Ilyas, a superb hooker of the ball himself in his hey-day, conceded that Arif played the shot better than him. “Many believe that I was the best hooker of the ball at the time in the Pakistan side, but I would say Arif was better than me. He was a brave cricketer who didn’t believe much in safety gear while taking the crease,” said Ilyas.
Arif and his brother Saeed Butt were born as twins but while latter could make it only to the first-class level, Arif went onto represent Pakistan against Australia and New Zealand.
In his three Test matches for Pakistan, he scored 59 runs and captured 14 wickets. At the first-class level, Arif was clearly outstanding, playing 97 matches, scoring 4017 and taking 201 wickets with best figures of 8-45.