Former South African coach and all-rounder Mike Procter has died aged 77. His wife Maryne confirmed the news to the press on Saturday, citing complications in heart surgery. He was a great all-rounder of his time and was also named one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year in 1970. He was famous for his chest action and used to release the ball early on during his bowling stride.

Mike Procter has played seven Test matches in his career, all against Australia. He was South Africa’s hero during Australia’s 4-0 defeat in 1969-70. He has taken 41 wickets in Test cricket at an impressive average of 15.02 and also scored key runs during the Test series against Australia. Mike Procter was coach of South Africa in 1992 and under his guidance, South Africa reached the semi-finals of that year’s World Cup. He also served as an ICC match referee from 2002 to 2008 and later became South Africa’s coordinator of selectors.

Mike Procter was involved in some controversies during his tenure as an ICC match referee. He was a referee at the Oval in 2006 when the umpires penalized Pakistan players for ball tampering. Procter banned Harbhajan Singh from three matches in Sydney in 2008 over charges of racism. The decision was later overturned and he resigned from the role in 2008 to become South Africa’s coach coordinator.

Mike Procter did not play much international cricket due to South Africa’s sporting isolation in the 1970s and 1980s. When they returned in 1992, he was appointed coach of the team and the Proteas qualified for the World Cup semi-finals in their first appearance in the tournament. However, his county records are brilliant and he served in Gloucestershire for about 13 years.

Mike Procter was also known as Proctershire.

Mike Procter was affectionately nicknamed Proctershire by fans as his best performances came mainly in the county team. Gloucestershire were struggling in 1969, but with the arrival of Mike Procter, they finished second as he took over 100 wickets. He has also had an excellent record with the bat, as he scored six consecutive centuries for Rhodesia in 1970 and also four centuries for Gloucestershire in the same season. Procter scored two hat-tricks in two games for the team in 1979 and led the team from 1977 to 1981.

Under his leadership, Gloucestershire won the Benson & Hedges Cup in 1977. Mike Procter was born on 15 September 1946 in Durban. He has played over 400 first-class cricket matches and has amassed 21,936 runs at an average of 36.01, which includes 48 centuries and 109 half-centuries. Mike Procter had also taken 1417 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 19.53 and his statistics show the prowess of him in cricket. If not for the ban imposed on South Africa, he too would have been a legend of the game in international cricket.

Mike Procter was a great human being and a great cricketer. The cricket fraternity will miss his presence and indeed it has been a big loss for South Africa as they lose their first coach in the ODI World Cup.