Basil Butcher

West Indies|Middle order Batter
Basil Butcher
INTL CAREER: 1958 - 1969
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Full Name

Basil Fitzherbert Butcher

Born

September 03, 1933, Port Mourant, Berbice, British Guiana

Died

December 16, 2019 (aged 86y 104d)

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Legbreak

Playing Role

Middle order Batter

A supple, wristy, resolute batsman, Basil Butcher became a consistently reliable performer at No. 4 or 5 in the West Indies order. In his first Test series, against India in 1958-59, he made 486 runs at 69.42, but had a chequered career thereafter, until the 1963 tour of England, when he made 383 runs in eight completed innings, including 133 out of 229 in the memorable draw at Lord's. During an interval in that match he opened a letter which advised him that (against a background of civil war) his wife had had a miscarriage back home in Guyana. Very upset, Butcher continued to play a solid and masterly innings which saved his side. Two fine series against Australia led Richie Benaud to consider him the most difficult of all West Indians to get out. An occasional legspinner himself, the only Test wickets Butcher took were all in one innings - 5 for 34 (four coming in three overs) against England at Port-of-Spain in 1967-68.
Christopher Martin-Jenkins

Adapted by Wisden from World Cricketers: A Biographical Dictionary (Oxford, 1996).

Career Averages
Batting & Fielding
FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAve100s50sCtSt
Test447863104209*43.11716150
FC1692622911628209*49.903154670
List A5411075735.660110
Bowling
FormatMatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
Test4462569055/345/5118.002.1051.2010
FC169-21931217405/34-30.423.3254.8-10
List A5-121011/101/1010.005.0012.0000
Basil Fitzherbert Butcher
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Test
Debut/Last Matches - Player
FC Matches
Span
1954/55 - 1970/71
List A Matches
Span
1963 - 1972/73
Photos
Basil Butcher was one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in 1970
Basil Butcher bats
Basil Butcher
Basil Butcher leaves the field after scoring an unbeaten 129 against England