JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: Former South African cricketer Mike Procter has died aged 77, his family has announced.
All-rounder Procter played seven Tests for South Africa before they were banned from international cricket in 1970 due to the country’s apartheid government.
He spent 14 seasons with Gloucestershire and later served as South Africa national team coach on their return to international cricket.
His wife Maryna told the South African website News24 that Procter suffered complications during the operation.
Gloucestershire said the club’s flag would be flown at half-mast until the start of the County Championship season on 5 April.
“Mike was a fantastic player and quite rightly regarded as one of the best all-rounders that has ever represented Gloucestershire,” said former team-mate David Graveney.
Procter was on the winning side in six of the seven Tests he played – all against Australia – between 1967 and 1970, taking 41 wickets at an average of just 15.02 before his international career was cut short.
His reputation as a formidable fast bowler was well earned and in 401 first-class matches from 1965 to 1988, he took 1,417 wickets at 19.53 and a further 344 wickets at 18.76 in List A cricket.
In his time with Gloucestershire, he won the Gillette Cup and the Benson and Hedges Cup, captaining the latter and was voted the county’s best overseas player in 2020.
Procter was coach of the Proteas from 1991 to 1994 and led the side to the semi-finals of the 1992 World Cup.
He later became an umpire for International Cricket Council matches.
In 2006, he lost the Oval Test between England and Pakistan when the visiting side refused to return after the tea break, having been penalized by the umpires for ball tampering.
Procter also banned India’s Harbhajan Singh for three Tests in 2008 for allegedly racially abusing Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds. The ban was lifted soon after when the charges were reduced to using offensive language.
