Former South African all-rounder, cricket icon and former Proteas coach Mike Procter has died at the age of 77.
The announcement was made by his family on Saturday after he had spend a number of days in hospital with a “serious illness”.
Procter was South Africa’s first head coach when the country came out of sporting isolation and returned to international cricket in 1991. The following year, he led the team to the semi-finals of the Cricket World Cup.
“He suffered a complication during surgery and while in ICU went into cardiac arrest. He became unconscious and unfortunately never woke up,” his wife Maryna said according to news reports.
After leaving his position as the team’s head coach, he served as South Africa’s convener of selectors, and was later an ICC match referee.
Due to Apartheid, which robbed a number of top cricketers an opportunity of perfoming on the international stage, Procter only played seven Tests for South Africa, scoring 226 runs at an average of 25.11, and picked up 41 wickets.
In a first class career that spanned 24 years, Procter scored 21 936 runs and picked up 1 417 wickets. He turned out for Natal, Orange Free State, Western Province and Rhodesia.
He also went on to represent English county side Gloucestershire for a number of years.
IOL Sport