Roland Butcher
Encyclopedia
Roland Butcher is a former English
cricket
er, who played in three Tests
and three ODIs from 1980 to 1981. His brief international career was somewhat overshadowed by the death of Ken Barrington
, and the 'Jackman affair
'.
of Basil
, Roland Butcher had come to the United Kingdom
at the age of thirteen. He was an aggressive middle-order
batsman, who represented Middlesex
between 1974 and 1990. His intuitive batting style owed much to the archetypical
West Indian calypso flair. He "secured his place in history when he became the first black player to represent England".
In 1983, "he suffered a sickening injury which threatened his eyesight when struck by George Ferris
", but managed to recuperate and return to the sport. Butcher had agreed to join a rebel tour of South Africa in 1989, led by his county captain Mike Gatting
. However, "he withdrew when media reaction threatened the success of his benefit
".
Butcher retired from playing professional cricket in 1990.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, who played in three Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and three ODIs from 1980 to 1981. His brief international career was somewhat overshadowed by the death of Ken Barrington
Ken Barrington
Kenneth Frank Barrington , better known as Ken Barrington, played for the English cricket team and Surrey County Cricket Club in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a right-handed batsman and occasional leg-spin bowler, well known for his jovial good humour and long, defensive innings "batting with bulldog...
, and the 'Jackman affair
Robin Jackman
Robin Jackman is a former English cricketer, who played in four Tests and fifteen ODIs for England from 1974 to 1983. He was a seam bowler and useful tail-end batsman. During a first-class career lasting from 1966 to 1982, he took 1,402 wickets...
'.
Life and career
A cousinCousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
of Basil
Basil Butcher
Basil Fitzherbert Butcher is a former West Indian cricketer who played in 44 Tests from 1958 to 1969. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1970....
, Roland Butcher had come to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
at the age of thirteen. He was an aggressive middle-order
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
batsman, who represented Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
between 1974 and 1990. His intuitive batting style owed much to the archetypical
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
West Indian calypso flair. He "secured his place in history when he became the first black player to represent England".
In 1983, "he suffered a sickening injury which threatened his eyesight when struck by George Ferris
George Ferris (cricketer)
George John Fitzgerald Ferris is a former first class cricketer who played for the Leeward Islands and Leicestershire. A right arm fast bowler, Ferris took 286 wickets at 25.71 in his career from 1982/83 until 1990. His cousin Hamish Anthony played ODI cricket for the West Indies.- External links...
", but managed to recuperate and return to the sport. Butcher had agreed to join a rebel tour of South Africa in 1989, led by his county captain Mike Gatting
Mike Gatting
Michael "Mike" William Gatting OBE is a former English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Middlesex and for England from 1977 to 1995, captaining the national side in twenty-three Test matches between 1986 and 1988...
. However, "he withdrew when media reaction threatened the success of his benefit
Benefit season
A benefit season is a method of financially rewarding professional cricketers that is used by English county cricket teams to compensate long serving players....
".
Butcher retired from playing professional cricket in 1990.