Mike Procter

Most of us Rust contributors are of an age that we remember those that departed in their prime. Their passing is a salutary reminder that none of us are immortal.

So I was saddened to learn of the passing of Mike Procter aged 77. He was one of the best all rounders I ever saw and he satisfied the description of that category as he could have been picked as a bowler or batsman.

He only played 7 Tests for South Africa as – after the 4/0 demolition of the Aussies – South Africa were banned from Test cricket for 20 years.

Was he bitter? Not at all.

He became at his adopted county Gloucestershire such a part of the team the county was nicknamed “Proctershire” and he became an open critic of the apartheid regime.

His South African side was one of the best I saw, numbering the Pollock brothers (Graeme’s 274 against Australia is ranked as one of the great modern Test innings), Derek Lindsay – the first of the wicketkeeper batsmen of the modern era – the great Barry Richards and Eddie Barlow, opener and all rounder.

Some cricketing cognoscenti have argued that Bill Lawry’s Aussies were over the hill but nonetheless to trounce them 4-0 was no mean feat. In that series Mike Procter took the most wickets (26 at an average of 14) and 200-plus runs.

Gloucestershire – despite the likes of WG Grace, Gilbert Jessop, Tom Graveney, David Allen, Courtney Walsh, Jack Russell, Zaheer Abbas have never won the Championship – and Mike Procter sits proudly and rightfully amongst that pantheon.