Len Butterfield


Leonard Arthur Butterfield was a New Zealand cricketer who played in one Test in 1946, making a pair.

Domestic career

He made his first-class debut for Canterbury in 1934-35, and played three more matches in 1935-36 batting at various positions in the order from opening to number eight, without much success. He reappeared in 1943-44 as an all-rounder who batted in the middle order and opened the bowling, and took 5 for 24 to help Canterbury beat Auckland, followed by 5 for 47 in a victory over Wellington in the next match. He was selected to play for a New Zealand XI in a first-class match against a New Zealand Services XI shortly afterwards, and hit 40 batting at number nine, his highest score to date.
He hit the highest score of his career, 82, against Otago in 1944-45, and was selected for South Island against North Island at Auckland in the last match of the season. In a low-scoring match he scored 16 and 58 batting at number seven, and opening the bowling he took 3 for 47 in the first innings then, with his team trailing by 67, he took the first five wickets to fall in North Island's second innings, taking 5 for 9 before having to leave the ground injured. North Island recovered somewhat after his departure, leaving South Island to get 262 for victory, but despite Butterfield's 58 and Ian Cromb's 62, they fell 34 runs short.

International career

In 1945-46 he made 76 against Auckland and 69 against Otago, when he also had figures of 28.5-21-17-4 in the first innings. He was unsuccessful with bat or ball when Canterbury were defeated by the Australians in March, but he was selected for the Test that followed later that month in Wellington. He bowled economically without taking a wicket, and, batting at number seven, after Gordon Rowe at six, faced 10 balls in the match without scoring, falling leg-before to Bill O'Reilly each time. It was his last first-class match.

After cricket

He later served for 21 years as New Zealand's chief harness racing stipendiary steward.