Ian Butler

Ian Butler, a fast bowler, had his introduction to international cricket when Shane Bond was injured. While not as fast as Bond, Butler is much younger and has the potential to develop more speed. He also has an uncanny ability to extract troublesome lift from surfaces others are unable to exploit. After four Tests spread out in 2001 and 2002, a spell with Gloucestershire in 2003 was the preview to his tour of India with the Test side, and he made a good showing in the second Test when he replaced the injured Jacob Oram. Bowling on a benign surface at Mohali, he consistently got the ball through at a good pace. A Test-best 6 for 46 followed against Pakistan at Wellington in 2004, and although he missed out on the Test series in England in 2004, he was called up the one-day squad after Shane Bond was forced to return home early. But four games later, with only seven wickets to boast of, he was cast into the wilderness from where he returned only in 2009. A good domestic season prompted his call-up to the Twenty20 squad to play Australia. He was then retained for the home Twenty20s against India, where he took four wickets. That performance earned him a recall to the one-day side.
Lynn McConnell February 2009