Cricket mourns Mike Procter — bowler and batsman who put bums on seats

Before T10, T20, Bazball or Mr 360, there was Mike Procter, who played cricket as if he was lifted from a comic book. 

Procter died aged 77 on Saturday night, after complications during surgery. According to a family statement, he suffered a “cardiac incident”.    

All-rounder Procter was long regarded as one of the greatest SA players, even though his international career was cut short because of the country’s apartheid policy, which led to international sporting isolation. 

His batting was adventurous, with no thought given to averages or strike rate but rather enjoyment and, more seriously, his team’s position in the match. His bowling was thrilling for the viewers — but not so much for batters, who had to deal with rapid in-duckers that bruised toes, thighs and egos. 

Procter’s was a life devoted to family and cricket. He put bums on seats as a player and then, when SA emerged from sports isolation, coached the national team led by Kepler Wessels on historic tours to India, England, Australia and at the 1992 Cricket World Cup. 

After that stint he was a match referee and then chief selector for the Proteas from 2008 to 2010, before being sacked from that position by Cricket SA’s then board. 

As a schoolboy, Procter excelled for Hilton College in multiple sports and then went on to become a prodigious all-rounder. He played provincial cricket for Natal, Western Province, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Free State. 

He played for English county Gloucestershire for 13 years, becoming one of that team’s stars, and such was his influence that the team was jokingly referred to as “Proctershire” in his time there. 

With them he featured prominently in two One-Day Cup triumphs.

In 1973, he made 94 and took two wickets in Gloucestershire’s win in the final of the Friends Provident Trophy, a one-day knockout competition held in England at the time. Four years later the county won the Benson & Hedges One-Day Cup at Lord’s, though it was his performance in the semifinal that is best remembered.

He helped Gloucestershire defend 181 against Hampshire, taking 6/13, including dismissing his good friend and teammate from Natal and the SA team, Barry Richards, along with legendary West Indies opener Gordon Greenidge.

Procter played only seven Tests, all on home soil against Australia, first in 1967 and then as part of the infamous 1970 side that beat Australia 4-0. It was the last time an SA team would feature on the international stage before being banned because of apartheid. Procter’s impact was still profound, and he finished his Test career with 41 wickets at an average of 15.02.

Asked about his career being shortened due to the international ban on cricket in SA, Procter said his pain was nothing compared with the pain that was felt by millions in SA at the time.

After his time as SA’s coach, Procter became an International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee from 2002 to 2008, a period in which some of the most memorable controversies occurred, with Procter central to them. 

Most notably was “Monkeygate” at the Sydney Cricket Ground, involving Australia and India in 2008, which eventually led to Procter leaving that position. He would take over as the Proteas’ chief selector later that year, a job he held until 2010 when he was controversially sacked, along with the rest of the members of the selection panel and the head coach at the time, Mickey Arthur. 

Tributes poured in from former players on Sunday.

“Devastated to hear about the passing of Mike Procter,” Jonty Rhodes, who was part of the Proteas in the ’90s and was coached by Procter, posted on X.

“He was my first provincial and international coach, and I obviously knew something about his playing career. Yet, it was only when I played for @Gloscricket [Gloucestershire] that I appreciated the extent of his all-rounder abilities.”

Another former Proteas star, Herschelle Gibbs, wrote: “Sad news about the passing of the great Mike proctor ... great all rounder and competitor of note. Rest well Proc.” 

Arthur, who oversaw the team’s preparation for a period when Procter was chief selector, wrote: “A man I had the privilege of watching growing up in Durban and then I got to know when we worked together at Cricket South Africa. RIP Michael John Procter.”

The Gloucestershire X account posted that the club was “devastated to learn” of Procter’s passing and sent its best wishes to his family.

Procter is survived by his wife, Maryna, and three children, Greg, Jessica and Tammy.