Scotland mourn Butt

Asim Butt played 71 matches for Scotland, most recently in May 2005

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Former Scotland seamer Asim Butt has died in his sleep at the age of 42, Cricket Scotland has announced.

Butt, who played for Scotland 71 times, died in his birthplace of Lahore during a visit to Pakistan.

The left-armer made his Scotland debut against Yorkshire in 1998 having settled in Edinburgh in the 1990s.

He played in all five of Scotland’s matches at the 1999 World Cup in England - the only one-day caps he won - and returned figures of 1-21 off 10 overs against Australia at New Road.

Butt's last Scotland cap came in a totesport League game against Somerset in May 2005, when he tested positive for ecstasy.

The following month he was hit with a one-year ban by the England and Wales Cricket Board and never played again for his adopted country.

“It’s very sad news,” said Scotland manager Euan McIntyre, also operations director of Cricket Scotland.

“He was a good guy, I played with him at Heriot’s and was obviously involved in the Scotland set-up with him too. We are all very sad at Cricket Scotland.

“He was very keen and always gave his best. He was always full of fun and games, he was good for team spirit and morale.”

Butt played for Corstorphine and Stewarts-Melville/Royal High, where he first came to the attention of Scotland's selectors, before moving to Heriot's in 1998.

“His main attributes were obviously his bowling,” McIntyre added. “He put his left-arm over the wicket and could swing the ball brilliantly into the batsman.

“He was also a hard-hitting batsman. He was maybe not the best stylist but he hit the ball massive distances. He played for Heriot’s seconds this year and hit a hundred and had nine sixes in there. He was also a great catcher, very alert.”

Butt, who ran a shop in Edinburgh with his brother, was not believed to have been ill before his sudden death.

“We don’t know what has happened,” McIntyre continued. “He was across in Pakistan for a holiday and apparently died in his sleep yesterday morning. His funeral is today in Pakistan.

“He had an operation a few years back for a blood clot on his brain, but he was fine after that and came back and played cricket.”