South African legend and commentator Mike Procter died on Saturday at the age of 77 years due to complications during heart surgery. His cricketing career coincided with sporting isolation in South Africa in the 1970s and 80s which was only 7 Test matches.
He was a decent bowler with 41 wickets from 7 matches he played which came against Australia in 1966-67 and 1969-70. He bowled pace bowling with wrong foot action that saw him releasing the ball early in delivery stride at a quick pace. His efforts with the ball saw South Africa six of 7 test matches against Australia.
His best test figures came was 6 for 73 in the second innings at Port Elizabeth helping South Africa register 323 runs victory. He was a decent batter with an average of 34.80 leading to a 4-0 whitewash over Australia in 1969-70. The South African team included Barry Richards, Graeme, and captain Ali Bacher.
His performances was limited to domestic cricket for Natal and then Rhodesia in the Currie Cup. He had 14 seasons for Glouchesthire between 1968 and 1981. He made 259 first-class matches during that period scoring 14441 runs with 32 centuries including the best score of 209 against Essex. His performance was brilliant picking up 883 wickets with career best figures of 8 for 30 against Worcestershire in 1979.
South Africa was readmitted to international cricket with Procter named as the head coach. Under his coaching, they won against the West Indies in Bridgetown. South Africa reached the semi-finals of the 1992 World Cup where they were knocked out in DLS method rule against England.
He commented on the famous tie match in the semi-finals of South Africa and Australia during the 1999 World Cup where Australia won the title. He was a match referee for ICC between 2002 and 2008. During this period, he was the convenor of selectors of South African cricket.
He died near his home in a hospital in Durban. Procter was famous for with style of delivery during commentator which saw every fan be excited. Mike Procter also proved his worth as a match referee during ICC major tournaments including World Cups and other major tournaments.
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