Former West Indies batsman Basil Butcher passed away on Monday in Florida, aged 86. A prolific scorer, Butcher amassed 3103 runs in 44 Tests at an average of 43.11. In a career spanning 11 years, he slammed seven tons and 16 fifties.
While playing in his debut series against India, Butcher scored 486 runs at an average 69.42, scoring two tons. But he is best remembered for his exploits against England – 133 at Lord’s in 1963 and 209 in Nottingham in 1966.
Apart from that he was a handy bowler too and bagged a fifer against England in Port of Spain in 1968. He also got back-to-back tons against Australia in Sydney and Adelaide, and Richie Benaud, then Australia captain, called him ‘most difficult of all West Indians to get out’.
He had an even better first-class career. In 169 matches Butcher managed to score 11628 runs at an average of 49.90. That included 31 tons and 54 fifties.
