Ijaz Butt

Mohammed Ijaz Butt (Urdu: اعجاز بٹ‎; 10 March 1938 – 3 August 2023) was a Pakistani cricketer who played in eight Test matches from 1959 to 1962. A wicket keeper and right-handed opening batsman, he scored 279 runs from his brief Test career at a modest batting average of 19.92, however he was a capable wicket keeper with a first-class cricket career for Lahore, Multan, Punjab and Rawalpindi where he scored 3,842 runs at 34.30 with a best of 161.

Ijaz Butt

Personal information
Full name	Mohammed Ijaz Butt
Born	(1938-03-10)10 March 1938 Sialkot, Punjab, British India
Died	3 August 2023(2023-08-03) (aged 85) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Batting	Right-handed
Role	Wicket-keeper, opening batsman
International information
National side	Pakistan (1959–1962)
Test debut (cap 30)	20 February 1959 v West Indies
Last Test	16 August 1962 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1955/56–1959/60	Pakistan Universities
1959/60–1964/65	Lahore
1959/60–1961/62	Rawalpindi
1963/64	Multan
1964/65–1967/68	Lahore Reds
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 8 67 Runs scored 279 3,842 Batting average 19.92 34.30 100s/50s 0/1 7/12 Top score 58 161 Balls bowled – 257 Wickets – 3 Bowling average – 49.33 5 wickets in innings – 0 10 wickets in match – 0 Best bowling – 1/21 Catches/stumpings 5/0 52/20
Source: CricketArchive, 23 September 2010

On 6 October 2008, President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), appointed Butt as chairman of the PCB. He was involved in several controversies during his term, at a time when security concerns—including a shooting incident involving the Sri Lankan tour bus—stripped Pakistan of several international fixtures, and he made a number of attacks on PCB officials and the Senate of Pakistan.

Playing career

Ijaz Butt was born in Sialkot, Punjab on 10 March 1938.^[1] He began his first-class career against a touring Marylebone Cricket Club squad on 16 January 1956 while playing for Pakistan Universities.^[2] Batting at number three, he scored 35 and 97, falling three short of a debut century thanks to the bowling of Billy Sutcliffe and the catching hands of Ken Barrington. The match ended in a draw.^[3] A month later he faced the MCC once more, this time for Punjab: he scored 43 and 18 as the MCC triumphed by an innings and 29 runs.^[4] Butt went on to make several successful appearances in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy over the winter of 1956/57, scoring 225 runs at 56.25 including a maiden century of 147 runs.^[5] He promptly toured the West Indies but only featured in one first-class match before returning^[2] to the 1958/59 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy where he had a less successful second season: 73 runs from three matches at 24.33, failing to pass 50.^[6] He nevertheless went straight into the Test team for the home series against the West Indies.^[2]

Butt played Test cricket between 1959 and 1962.^[7] He made his Test debut at Karachi on 20 February 1959. The West Indies, bowled out cheaply for 146 in the first innings, conceded a 10-wicket defeat with Butt scoring 14 and 41 not out as a specialist opener.^[8] He scored two, 21, 47* and two in the rest of the series. Between 26 March and 4 December he played two more Tests against Australia, scoring a career-best 58 in the second Test. He was then left out of the team until 1962, where he toured England, playing in three of the five Test matches. He struggled, scoring 10, 33, one, six, 10 and six before being dropped.^[9]

Following the end of his international career, despite scoring over 1,000 first-class runs in the England tour including two centuries, he made only sporadic appearances in Pakistani domestic cricket. He appeared in only three Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches between 1963 and 1965; an invitational XI match for the Punjab Governor against Pakistan Universities in 1966; Pakistan versus The Rest in 1967; and lastly one appearance in the Ayub Trophy on 15 January 1968 where he scored 40 and 15 for the Lahore Reds.^[10]

Corporate career

In 1977, he served as the president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.^[11]

He also worked as the director new projects at Service Industries Pakistan, expanding it to one of the largest manufacturers of footwear and motor cycle / cycle tyres and tubes. He was a director on the board of Servis Tyres.^[12][13][14]

Administrative career

In 1982, Butt was appointed manager for the Pakistani winter tour of Australia, and in 1984 the secretary of the then Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan, a position he held until 1988 along with the presidency of the Lahore City Cricket Association.

In October 2008, he was named chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).^[7][15] His initial actions were to suggest the possibility of neutral venues to preserve international cricket during a time of tenuous security conditions within Pakistan: "The holding of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan depends on the security condition of the country and if the current indefinite situation prevails further we may consider the option to play on alternate venues."^[16] He expressed relief when the 2009 Champions Trophy appeared to be going ahead in Pakistan despite security risks,^[17] and "made a series of startling revelations" about discussions with the International Cricket Council about merging with the Indian Premier League.^[18]

Pakistan, however, received little support as potential hosts of the Champions Trophy, a fact on which Butt expressed surprise.^[19] He warned that a divide would occur in the world of cricket should sub-continent cricket tours be marginalised.^[20] India later cancelled their tour to Pakistan, though Butt was hoping to host Australia after the latter team expressed an interest.^[21] In October 2008, he also asked questions of the financial security of the previous PCB officials, and speculated on the removal of Geoff Lawson, then Pakistani coach, from his position.^[22][23] Two days later, however, he reversed his position by stating he was "duty-bound to fully back Lawson and to take care of all his liabilities."^[24] Shafqat Naghmi, PCB Chief Operating Officer, also threatened to sue Butt over allegations that the former was stealing official documents.^[25]

Loss of the World Cup

Security concerns did not lessen, however, and Javed Miandad's resignation as director-general of the PCB resulted in traded accusations between himself and Butt at a Senate of Pakistan meeting.^[26] Butt refused to step down,^[27] and attacked the senate as a body with little actual legal power over the PCB.^[28] The senate nevertheless moved a resolution for a change in the PCB management.^[29] However, Butt remained in his position. Following an attack on a touring Sri Lanka cricket team in early 2009, Butt admitted in a public statement the difficulty international teams had in coming to the country, but accused ICC referee Chris Broad of exaggerating the problems.^[30] ICC President David Morgan, however, agreed with Broad's assessment.^[31] The 2011 Cricket World Cup was duly moved out of Pakistan.^[32]

Butt continued to meet with the PCB board to regain the World Cup, to no avail, despite a legal battle which lasted until August. Eventually an out of court settlement of 18 million US dollars was agreed upon; Butt calling it "the best possible solution."^[33][34] Concurrently, the PCB under Butt dissolved the national selection panel^[35] and removed Saleem Altaf from his position as chief operating officer.^[36] The summer tour of Sri Lanka was also marred by match-fixing allegations over which the PCB sought legal advice. The ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit eventually cleared the Pakistan players of having had any contact with bookmakers.^[37][38]

Towards the winter of 2009, Butt also came up against Younis Khan in a dispute over the captaincy, with Khan taking time out of the game.^[39] By January 2010, however, Butt ruled that a new captain would be chosen following the tour of Australia, with Khan quitting the captaincy.^[40] Further match fixing claims arose in February, and Butt promised action against the players involved following the report of an inquiry committee which investigated Pakistan's whitewash defeat during the tour of Australia.^[41] Further match fixing and financial corruption accusations followed for both Butt and the PCB in 2010.^[42] Nevertheless, the ICC announced on 11 February the awarding of a medal for Butt for services to cricket.^[43]

2010 England tour

Though Butt had deflected accusations of match fixing earlier in February 2010 during Pakistan's tour of Australia,^[44] the 2010 tour of England was publicly marred by controversial match fixing allegations involving a number of Pakistan players and their actions during the One Day Internationals against England and the Test series against the host nation and against Australia. Scotland Yard confirmed on 17 September that it had questioned Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz over allegations of accepting bribes, and that the police had passed evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service. Several Pakistani players were suspended.^[45] Initially, Ijaz Butt had supported the prosecution of Amir, stating that "his board will not make any appeals for leniency",^[46] however on 19 September he attacked the England cricket team during a press conference, accusing them of a conspiracy to "defraud Pakistan cricket" by accepting their own bribes. He stated that:

This is not a conspiracy to defraud bookies but a conspiracy to defraud Pakistan and Pakistan cricket... We have taken it in hand to start our own investigations. We will shortly reveal the names of the people, the parties and the bodies involved in this sinister conspiracy and we also reserve the right to sue them for damages... There is loud and clear talk in bookie circles that some English players have taken enormous amounts of money to lose the match [the third ODI]. No wonder there was such a collapse.^[47]

The remarks provoked a backlash from the England and Wales Cricket Board as well as England coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss. The ECB announced that it would be taking legal action against Butt for his allegations, though the tour would continue despite several England players' reluctance to participate.^[48] There were several calls for Butt to resign, however he refused.^[49][50] Wajid Shamsul Hasan, the Pakistan's high commissioner, defended Butt, calling the disagreement "a very innocent argument" and denying relationships with the United Kingdom were adversely affected.^[51] The England team later made official their demand for an apology in a letter sent to Butt, promising legal action without further warning if their request went unfulfilled.^[52][53] Butt arrived in London in late September vowing not to retract his comments in the run up to a meeting with the lawyers of three suspended Pakistan players;^[54] however, he later reversed course and retracted his statement.^[55] He was nevertheless recalled by the PCB for an explanation, amid speculation that his future as chairman remained tenuous.^[56] The ICC board of directors discussed sacking him in a meeting in Dubai should he not accept new anti-corruption measures.^[57][58]

In October 2011, following the expiration of his three-year term in office as PCB Chairman,^[59] he was replaced by Zaka Ashraf.^[60][61]

Death

Butt died in Lahore on 3 August 2023, at age 85.^[62][63]

References

1. "Ijaz Butt". Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
2. "First-Class Matches played by Ijaz Butt". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
3. "Scorecard: Pakistan Universities v Marylebone Cricket Club – Marylebone Cricket Club in Pakistan 1955/56". Retrieved 23 September 2010.
4. "Scorecard: Punjab v Marylebone Cricket Club – Marylebone Cricket Club in Pakistan 1955/56". Retrieved 23 September 2010.
5. "Batting and Fielding for Punjab – Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 1956/57". CricketArchive. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
6. "Batting and Fielding for Punjab – Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 1957/58". CricketArchive. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
7. "Ijaz Butt appointed new PCB chairman". Cricinfo. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
8. "1st Test: Pakistan v West Indies at Karachi, Feb 20–25, 1959". Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
9. "Batting records". Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
10. "Scorecard: Rawalpindi v Lahore Reds – Ayub Trophy 1967/68". CricketArchive. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
11. "Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry". www.lcci.com.pk.
12. . Servis Tyres. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
13. Oborne, Peter (3 July 2014). Wounded Tiger: A History of Cricket in Pakistan. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-85720-075-4.
14. Puthran, Aayush (28 July 2022). Unveiling Jazbaa: A History of Pakistan Women's Cricket. Polaris. ISBN 978-1-913538-81-1.
15. "Ijaz Butt named new PCB chairman -DAWN – Sport; October 08, 2008". Dawn. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
16. "New PCB chairman hints at neutral venues". Cricinfo. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
17. "Pakistan chief relieved at Champions Trophy decision". Cricinfo. 16 October 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
18. "Butt reveals possible IPL-ICL merger". Cricinfo. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
19. "Butt surprised at lack of support". Cricinfo. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
20. "PCB chairman warns of divide". Cricinfo. 29 November 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
21. "Ijaz Butt hopeful of hosting Australia". Cricinfo. 5 January 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
22. "Butt questions previous regime's financial dealings". Cricinfo. 21 October 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
23. Samiuddin, Osman (21 October 2008). "Lawson in the dark over future". Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
24. "'I am duty-bound to fully back Lawson' – Butt". Cricinfo. 23 October 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
25. "Naghmi threatens to sue Butt". Cricinfo. 22 October 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
26. "Butt and Miandad square off". Cricinfo. 9 February 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
27. "Defiant Butt won't step down". Cricinfo. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
28. "Butt hits back at senate". Cricinfo. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
29. "Pakistan senators seek immediate change in board". Cricinfo. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
30. "Butt accuses Broad of lies over lax security". Cricinfo. 5 March 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
31. "Morgan admits 'level of security was not as expected'". CricInfo. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
32. "World Cup matches moved out of Pakistan". Cricinfo. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
33. "Butt turns to diplomacy in bid to retain World Cup benefits". Cricinfo. 15 May 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
34. "PCB expects US$18 million for World Cup deal". Cricinfo. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
35. "PCB dissolves national selection panel". Cricinfo. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
36. "PCB sacks Altaf as COO". Cricinfo. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
37. "PCB takes legal advice on match-fixing allegations". Cricinfo. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
38. "ICC clears Pakistan players of contact with bookies". Cricinfo. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
39. "Younis could still return as captain – Ijaz Butt". Cricinfo. 12 November 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
40. "New Pakistan captain after Australia tour, says PCB chief Ijaz Butt". Cricinfo. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
41. "Ijaz Butt promises action against leading Pakistan players". Cricinfo. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
42. "PCB under scrutiny for mismanagement of funds". Cricinfo. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
43. "ICC President announces medal for PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
44. "Confusion reigns over Pakistan match-fixing claims". Cricinfo. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
45. "Scotland Yard says fixing file has been handed over to prosecutors". Cricinfo. 17 September 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
46. "Spot-fixing controversy: Ijaz Butt says no leniency for Amir". Cricinfo. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
47. "Pakistan in England 2010: Conspiracy to defraud Pakistan cricket – Ijaz Butt". Cricinfo. 19 September 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
48. "Angry England hit back at Butt remarks". Cricinfo. 20 September 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
49. "Ijaz Butt refuses to resign". The Nation. Pakistan. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
50. "Ijaz Butt should be sacked, PCB dissolved". The Express Tribune. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
51. "Pakistan High Commissioner defends Butt's comments". Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
52. "BBC Sport – Cricket – England cricket team warn Ijaz Butt of legal action". BBC Online. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
53. "England demand Butt apology". Sky Sports. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
54. Samiuddin, Osman (28 September 2010). "Unapologetic Ijaz Butt arrives in London". CricInfo. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
55. "Ijaz Butt apologises for match-fixing comments". CricInfo. 29 September 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
56. Samiuddin, Osman (5 October 2010). "Clouds gather ahead of Butt's return". CricInfo. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
57. Samiuddin, Osman (13 October 2010). "Clean up your act, ICC tells PCB". CricInfo. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
58. Samiuddin, Osman (18 October 2010). "Ijaz Butt was told to reform or be expelled". CricInfo. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
59. "Ijaz Butt still rules PCB as three-year term expires". DAWN. 7 October 2011.
60. Samiuddin, Osman (13 October 2011). "Ijaz Butt was too old-fashioned as PCB chairman". The National.
61. "A litany of lows". ESPNcricinfo. 14 October 2011.
62. "Former PCB chairman Ijaz Butt passes away". Aaj News. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
63. "Former PCB chairman Ijaz Butt passes away". Dawn. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.

External links

• Ijaz Butt at ESPNcricinfo