Michael Procter

Michael John Procter (15 September 1946 – 17 February 2024) was a South African cricketer, whose involvement in international cricket was limited by South Africa's banishment from world cricket in the 1970s and 1980s. A fast bowler and hard-hitting batsman, he was regarded as one of South African cricket's top allrounders. Procter began his career mainly as a menacing fast bowler, who famously "bowled off the wrong foot", and became well known in the cricketing fraternity for his chest-on action and for his ability to release the ball early in his delivery stride. He rose to prominence as a frontline fast bowler in first-class cricket, and went on to capture 1417 wickets across 401 first-class matches, averaging a healthy 19.53, whereas he also showcased his prowess with the ball in List A cricket by picking up 344 wickets at an exceptional average of 18.76. Procter also gained a reputation for being an outstanding batter of his generation, becoming only one of three players to strike a record six consecutive centuries in first class cricket, alongside Don Bradman and C. B. Fry. Gloucestershire was affectionately nicknamed "Proctershire" when Procter played for Gloucestershire in English county cricket, due to his scoring over 20,000 runs and taking more than 1,000 wickets for the club. Procter was also one of only three players to score a century and take a hat-trick in the same match while playing for Gloucestershire, and he remains the only player to complete the unique distinction twice for the club, having achieved it against Essex in 1972 and against Leicestershire in 1979. Following his retirement from playing the game, Procter was active as a coach, commentator and selector, and was appointed a match referee by the ICC. His tenure as referee involved several controversies. Procter was named Cricketer of the Year for South Africa in 1967, and by Wisden in 1970, who described him as "One of the rare cricketers who could have found a place in any test team as either a batsman or bowler, and who could win a game single-handed with bat or ball in his hand". He died in 2024.

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