Basil Butcher

West Indies

Full name Basil Fitzherbert Butcher

Born September 3, 1933, Port Mourant, Berbice, British Guiana

Died December 16, 2019 (aged 86 years 104 days)

Major teams West Indies, British Guiana, Guyana

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Legbreak

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	Ct
Tests	44	78	6	3104	209*	43.11	7	16	15
First-class	169	262	29	11628	209*	49.90	31	54	67
List A	5	4	1	107	57	35.66	0	1	1

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w
Tests	44	6	256	90	5	5/34	5/51	18.00	2.10	51.2	0	1
First-class	169		2193	1217	40	5/34		30.42	3.32	54.8		1
List A	5		12	10	1	1/10	1/10	10.00	5.00	12.0	0	0

Career statistics

Test debut	India v West Indies at Mumbai (BS), Nov 28-Dec 3, 1958 scorecard
Last Test	England v West Indies at Leeds, Jul 10-15, 1969 scorecard
Test statistics
First-class span	1954/55 - 1970/71
List A span	1963 - 1972/73

Profile

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

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