Mike Procter, legendary South African all-rounder, passes away at 77

Mike Procter, regarded as one of South Africa's greatest all-rounders, has died at the age of 77, following complications during heart surgery.

As per a report on the ICC website, the former cricketer’s wife Maryna confirmed the news to the South African press late on Saturday, February 17.

Procter’s international career was cut short due to South Africa's sporting isolation in the 1970s and 1980s. He ended up playing only seven Test matches, all of them against Australia.

A right-arm pacer, he claimed 41 wickets at an average of 15.02, with a best of 6/73. On the batting front, he scored 226 runs with a best of 48. He was named by Wisden as one of their Cricketers of the Year in 1970.

Many critics reckoned that he could have been one of the greatest all-rounders of the game, but was unlucky as his career coincided with the period when South Africa were barred from participating in sporting events.

Known for bowling ‘off the wrong foot’ with a chest-on action, Procter had a long first-class career from 1965 to 1988/89. He played 401 first-class matches, claiming 1,417 wickets at an average of 19.53 with 70 five-fers and 15 ten-wicket match hauls. With the bat, he amassed 21,936 runs at an average of 36.01, with 48 hundreds and 109 half-centuries, including a best of 254.

In List-A cricket, Procter played 271 matches, claiming 344 scalps at an average of 18.76 and scored 6,624 runs, with five hundreds and 36 fifties. He represented Gloucestershire in English county cricket and also played for Rhodesia in the early 1970s.

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Post-retirement, Procter remained involved with cricket

Even after retiring from the game, Procter remained involved with cricket in some capacity or another. He was South Africa’s coach when they were readmitted to international cricket. Under his guidance, the Proteas reached the semifinals of the 1992 World Cup played in Australia and New Zealand.

The former South African all-rounder also served as an ICC match referee between 2002 and 2008. He was the referee when Pakistan forfeited the Test at The Oval in 2006 and also during Monkeygate in Sydney in 2007-08.

Subsequently, he quit the role and took up a position as South Africa's convener of selectors.