'He made things happen': Forgotten Shield Final heroes

2007 Sheffield Shield Final

Tasmania 340 (Wright 67, Butterworth 66, Bollinger 5-73) & 460 (Clingeleffer 107, Butterworth 106) def New South Wales 230 (Jaques 82, Butterworth 4-33) & 149 (Wright 5-13, Hilfenhaus 4-22) by 421 runs 

The player

Bowling allrounder Luke Butterworth made his first-class debut for Tasmania as a 23-year-old in January 2007. Less than two months later, he was lining up for his fifth match, the Sheffield Shield (then Pura Cup) final against New South Wales.

"He was a player who just gave everything for his state," says Queensland wicketkeeper Chris Hartley, who faced Butterworth in two Shield finals.

"He extracted every bit of talent that he had."

The context

Tasmania had been a full member of Australia's first-class competition (known then as the Pura Cup) for 25 years by 2006-07, and they were still searching for their maiden title. But this particular summer, Tasmania didn't just qualify for the Shield final, they earned the right to host it for the first time.

Their opponents were the formidable New South Wales, yet the Tigers took "a lot of confidence" from the fact they had beaten the Blues by seven wickets in the final home and away fixture of the regular season.

Even though Butterworth had taken 19 wickets at an average of only 21 apiece from his four matches, the young Tiger still felt fortunate to hold onto his place for the decider.

"It all happened pretty quick," Butterworth remembers. "I was 12th man for the first few matches and was lucky enough to perform reasonably well in the last few round games. Adam Griffith was coming back from injury and I thought I was going to be left out. Luckily I got a game."

Fellow quick Brendan Drew made way for Griffith and Butterworth was picked, which proved to be a masterstroke by the Tasmania selectors.

The moment

Tasmania won the toss and batted first but like most Bellerive Oval surfaces, the pitch was offering plenty on the first day. Blues quicks Doug Bollinger and Matthew Nicholson were enjoying the conditions and it wasn't long before Butterworth strode to the middle with the score at 6-173. When captain Daniel Marsh fell four overs later, Tassie were in desperate trouble at 7-188.

Thirty-one-year-old Damien Wright joined the Butterworth and the pair combined for a match-defining partnership.

"It was great batting with Damien Wright in the first innings," says Butterworth. "We just agreed to play our natural game and see where that gets us. It was good batting with a senior player at that time."

But how much could really be expected of the youngster? Butterworth had batted six times in his Shield career to date and scored only 104 runs at an average of 17.3.

Staying positive, combined with some youthful ignorance, worked for him.

"I guess there was pressure, but I didn’t really take much notice of it," he says. "I was probably a bit naïve as well."

Butterworth brought up his maiden first-class half-century (66) and Wright (67) reached the milestone too as the pair combined for a crucial 111-run partnership, pushing Tassie's first-innings total up to 340.

The performance

From there, the game swung heavily in the home side's favour and Butterworth's match would continue to get better.

NSW's middle order collapsed, losing 5-34 as Butterworth, as Wright and the season's leading wicket-taker, Ben Hilfenhaus, chimed in with wickets to leave the Blues reeling at 7-171. Butterworth finished with 4-33 as the visitors were bowled out for just 230, a deficit of 110 runs.

In Tasmania's second innings, Butterworth was at the centre of the action again, putting the result beyond doubt with another huge performance with the bat.

"I was batting with (wicketkeeper) Sean Clingeleffer and just thought, 'we've got so much time in the game, we can just bat as long as we want'," says Butterworth.

And they did. Coming together at 6-176 with Tasmania's lead at 286, Butterworth and Clingeleffer put on a 163-run stand from 58 overs. Butterworth was eventually dismissed for 106, his maiden first-class hundred, and the Tigers were more than 450 runs in front.

"I had scored some grade hundreds," Butterworth says, "(But) I considered myself more of a bowling allrounder, so it was nice to contribute with the bat."

New South Wales, chasing 571 for victory, were bowled out in less than 35 overs for 149.

Butterworth's first-innings partner-in-crime, Wright, took 5-13 and the reliable Hilfenhaus took 4-22. Tasmania had won their first-ever Sheffield Shield and Butterworth was named Player of the Match.

The aftermath

"We got some decent crowds," remembers Butterworth. "There were schools coming down every day and we actually had decent crowds throughout. And then when it looked like we were going to win, there seemed to be more people come in. When we did the lap at the end, there were so many people that we knew, it was amazing.”

"It was great to see all the past players there … players like Jamie Cox, who I think was doing radio at the time, he played 150 first-class games for Tassie and never got to experience it.

"I remember the celebrations were very good and we had a great night. The next day we got on a bus and went around Tassie and really enjoyed it."

Queensland's Chris Hartley remembers Butterworth as a player the Bulls were always wary of, especially in big games.

"I think a lot of people would describe him as underrated," says Hartley.

"But a lot of players did rate him. His performances were very consistent for Tassie and he had a knack in finals of making things happen."

Butterworth would go on to feature in three consecutive Shield finals with Tasmania between 2010-11 and 2012-13, winning two of them. He played vital knocks in both the victories too, 86 in the win in 10-11 and 88 in the success of 12-13.

He, along with Hilfenhaus and George Bailey, are the only players to feature in all of Tasmania's three Shield titles.