Scottish Cricket in shock at the loss of 'fine bowler' Butt

Published on Monday 30 November 2009 23:13

ASIM Butt's friends and colleagues in Scottish cricket were aware he had suffered health problems in the past. More recently, however, he had appeared to be very fit, with only his business commitments preventing him from returning to the peak form which had seen him win 71 caps for Scotland.

His death at the age of 42 therefore came as a complete shock to all concerned. It was Asim's brother and business partner Amir who received the news in a phone call from family members in Lahore that Asim had died in his sleep. Last night Amir was on his way to Pakistan in order to attend today's funeral.

Born in Lahore in 1967, Asim Butt played first-class cricket from the age of 16 for several clubs including Lahore, Lahore City and Pakistan Railways. He played mainly one-day games in his native country, and quickly made an impact in his debut season when scoring 40 not out and taking one wicket in a contest in the 1983-84 Patron's Trophy.

He moved to Edinburgh at the start of the 1990s, and started a retail business. He played first for Corstorphine and then Stewart's-Melville/Royal High, and was on the brink of international recognition when he moved to Heriot's. His friends and former team-mates there were among the first to learn of his passing.

"It came as a great shock," Euan McIntyre, the operations director of Cricket Scotland and also the chairman of the cricket committee at Heriot's, said yesterday. "Asim was a great guy.

"He was a very friendly bloke and a fine bowler. He was very helpful and had a great sense of humour. He could bat a bit too. He had great control and hit some huge sixes."

It was in May 1998 that the left-arm seamer won his first Scotland cap, against Yorkshire at Boghall, home of West Lothian CC. He took 3-42 in the Benson & Hedges Cup match, and went on to be a regular in the Scotland team for several seasons.

At the start of 1999 Butt was included by Jim Love, the national director of cricket, in his squad for Scotland's first appearance in the ICC Cricket World Cup. He went on to play in all five of Scotland's matches in the competition, which was held in England.

He took six wickets against the MCC the following year, and five against Ireland in 2004.

That match against the Irish was in the first Intercontinental Cup in Sharjah, and Scotland went on to win the competition, with Butt taking an impressive 4-10 in the final against Canada. But, while primarily known for his skill as a bowler, he also contributed well when called upon to bat.

Although he scored just 320 runs for Scotland in his 71 caps, those runs included some prodigious boundaries. At 69.13 per 100 balls, his strike rate was also impressive.

When he tested positive for ecstasy following a match against Somerset in 2005 it came as a complete surprise to his team-mates. They knew him as a quiet family man, and could not make the connection between him and a drug often perceived as mainly being used by young night-clubbers.

Butt himself was also surprised, albeit for a different reason. He said that the night before the test he had been with his brother and some friends, and shared a cigarette which he later decided must have contained cannabis.

He offered that information to Scottish officials before the test findings emerged. While insisting he had not knowingly taken any prohibited substance, he decided not to appeal when he was given a year-long ban from the game.

"I've never had a drug in my life," Butt told The Scotsman after the ban had been announced. "I don't drink either.

"But I know that either something I smoked or maybe even the Coke I drank had ecstasy in it. It was found in my system. I can't do anything about it, just accept it happened."

Feeling he had let his friends and family down, he vowed to return to cricket as soon as possible. Unfortunately, however, health problems and the demands of his burgeoning business prevented him from getting back to the standards which had seen him win international honours.

"Perhaps he tried to get back a bit (too] quickly," McIntyre reflected yesterday. "We knew he had been in hospital three or four years ago, and that he had a blood clot on the brain. And we also knew that he got headaches very often. But recently he was very fit.

"He made some appearances for our (Heriot's] second team this season, and also played once for the firsts. That was against Watsonians, and he bowled well, bending the ball all ways."

Despite not being able to play as much as he would like over the last couple of years, Butt maintained his enthusiasm for cricket. His first love and primary commitment was to his family, and he worked long hours along with his brother to build up their business, but he worked when he could as a specialist coach, and also strove to recruit sponsors to the domestic game.

His former team-mate and fellow fast-bowler John Blain also paid tribute to him last night. "I am absolutely shattered at the news," Blain said.

"Asim was one of the best bowlers I ever played with and a superb bloke. It is a tragedy he has died so young."