Mike Procter
Encyclopedia
Michael John Procter is a former South Africa
n cricket
er. A fast bowler and hard hitting batsman, his chances for a long and productive test career were wrecked by South Africa's banishment from world cricket in the 1970s and 1980s. He proved himself a colossal competitor in English first class cricket but was denied the international stage most fitting to his volcanic power. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1970 and South African cricketer of the year in 1967.
Following his retirement from the playing the game, Procter was appointed as a match referee by ICC for officiating cricket matches. However, his tenure has been marked by controversies and he has often been accused of bias and racism against several teams.
Procter married Maryna Godwin, who won the 1962 Border Junior Women's Singles Championship by beating Pam Watermeyer 6-2 6-0, and who reached the third round of the 1967 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
, the third round of the 1966
and 1967 French Championships
and the 1968 French Open
, and the quarterfinals of the 1968 U.S. Open - Women's Singles
.
, between 1967 and 1970. 41 Test wickets at an average of 15.02 suggest what he might have achieved in the coming years had South Africa been allowed to play at the highest level. Along with Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock
, Procter was responsible in his side inflicting two successive series defeats on Australia by margins of 3-1 and 4-0.
.
for 13 years as an overseas player for Gloucestershire
and led them to great success. Fans even jokingly renamed the team Proctershire. His whirlwind, chest-on pace bowling lifted Gloucestershire from the unfashionable depths of the county championship to second in 1969 as he blasted his way to over a hundred wickets. Four centuries followed in 1971, the last lifting them from 28 for three to a target of 201 in just over two hours against Yorkshire. Procter's 109 innings of not out
in Gloucestershire's 135/3 in the 1974 John Player League
- the lowest team total in List A cricket to include a century. He destroyed Worcestershire single handedly in 1977, scoring a century before lunch and taking 13 wickets for just 73 runs. He picked up another century before lunch in 1979, against Leicestershire, winning the Walter Lawrence Trophy
for the season's fastest century, and then ripped through their batsmen with a hat-trick for good measure. Procter defied insurmountable odds in the very next game, against Yorkshire, by taking another hat-trick, all trapped leg-before. The potency of his muscular inswinging fast bowling can be seen by the fact that his feat of taking two hat-trick of LBWs is unique in the first class game. He captained them with distinction from 1977 to 1981 and was hugely popular with team mates and supporters alike. He was the Professional Cricketers' Association Player of the Year in 1970 and 1977 and won the Cricket Society Wetherall Award for the Leading All-Rounder in English First-Class Cricket in 1978.
As captain he led Gloucestershire to the Benson & Hedges Cup
in 1977, as director of coaching he guided Northamptonshire CCC to their triumph in the 1989-90 Nat West Trophy final and in 1994 he was coach as Kepler Wessels
' South African team stunned England at Lord's by 356 runs. As a player Procter had beaten England there in 1970 with the Rest of the World XI and won the Gillette Cup for Gloucestershire in 1973, scoring 94 and taking two wickets against Sussex.
"I never really bothered much about averages, I was more concerned with how the team did, so to never lose a big game at Lord's was a highlight, plus there was winning all the Super Tests in Australia during World Series Cricket and all those Currie Cups with Natal," Procter told Cricinfo "And, of course, winning all those Test matches in South Africa against the Aussies."
, Procter had an awkward chest on action, seeming to bowl off the wrong foot at the end of an intimidating run. His unusual action generated late inswing which, in the right conditions, could be unplayable at times. He bowled at high pace in his pomp but later in his career knee problems caused by the impact of his bull like body on the bowling crease forced him to turn to off-spin. Typically he proved adept at this too. His muscular batting in the middle order was famed for its power, although based on a sound defence. He was one of those 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.
, Procter banned Harbhajan Singh
for three matches on charges of racism. This decision was later overturned by Justice Hansen who found Andrew Symonds had instigated the confrontation and there was no credible witness (including Symonds himself) who could testify Harbhajan had used the word "monkey". Justice Hansen also questioned Clarke's credibility as a witness (refer to icc_commissioner_decision_30012008.pdf). Procter was widely criticized for failing to account for these facts in his original decision and some (most prominently Sunil Gavaskar) questioned whether his sympathies lay with the Australian team due to his race.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. A fast bowler and hard hitting batsman, his chances for a long and productive test career were wrecked by South Africa's banishment from world cricket in the 1970s and 1980s. He proved himself a colossal competitor in English first class cricket but was denied the international stage most fitting to his volcanic power. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1970 and South African cricketer of the year in 1967.
Following his retirement from the playing the game, Procter was appointed as a match referee by ICC for officiating cricket matches. However, his tenure has been marked by controversies and he has often been accused of bias and racism against several teams.
Early and personal life
Educated at Hilton College, he played for Natal in the Nuffield week and for South African schools in 1963 and 1964. His brother, AW Procter, cousin AC Procter and father WC Procter all played first-class cricket.Procter married Maryna Godwin, who won the 1962 Border Junior Women's Singles Championship by beating Pam Watermeyer 6-2 6-0, and who reached the third round of the 1967 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
1967 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Billie-Jean Moffitt defeated Adrianne Haydon 6–3 6–4 in the final to win the Ladies' Singles title at the 1967 Wimbledon Championships.See also:-Seeds:The seeded players are listed below...
, the third round of the 1966
1966 French Championships - Women's Singles
Ann Jones defeated Nancy Richey 6-3 6-1 in the final to win the Women's Singles title at the 1966 French Championships.See also:-Seeds:The seeded players are listed below. Ann Jones is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated....
and 1967 French Championships
1967 French Championships - Women's Singles
Françoise Durr defeated Lesley Turner 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the final to win the Women's Singles title at the 1967 French Championships.See also:-Seeds:...
and the 1968 French Open
1968 French Open - Women's Singles
Nancy Richey defeated Ann Jones 5-7 6-4 6-1 in the final to win the Women's Singles title at the 1968 French Open.See also:-Seeds:The seeded players are listed below. Nancy Richey is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated....
, and the quarterfinals of the 1968 U.S. Open - Women's Singles
1968 U.S. Open - Women's Singles
Virginia Wade defeated Billie Jean King 6–4 6–2 in the final to win the Women's Singles title at the 1968 US Open.See also:-Seeds:The seeded players are listed below...
.
International career
The ban on South Africa restricted his Test career to a mere seven appearances, all of them against AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, between 1967 and 1970. 41 Test wickets at an average of 15.02 suggest what he might have achieved in the coming years had South Africa been allowed to play at the highest level. Along with Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock
Graeme Pollock
Robert Graeme Pollock, known as Graeme, is a former cricketer. He played in 23 Test matches for South Africa and represented Transvaal and Eastern Province at domestic level....
, Procter was responsible in his side inflicting two successive series defeats on Australia by margins of 3-1 and 4-0.
South African domestic cricket
Procter is the only man to make over 500 runs and take 50 wickets twice in a domestic South African season, in 1971-72 and 1972–73, when he took a then record 59 wickets in eight Currie Cup games. In 1970 he entered the record books, to join the exalted company of Sir Donald Bradman and C.B. Fry, in scoring six successive first class centuries for Rhodesia. He played and captained South Africa in 1 unofficial "Test"South African rebel tours
The South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because South Africa was throughout this period banned from international cricket due to the apartheid regime...
.
Proctershire
He played county cricketCounty cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
for 13 years as an overseas player for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
and led them to great success. Fans even jokingly renamed the team Proctershire. His whirlwind, chest-on pace bowling lifted Gloucestershire from the unfashionable depths of the county championship to second in 1969 as he blasted his way to over a hundred wickets. Four centuries followed in 1971, the last lifting them from 28 for three to a target of 201 in just over two hours against Yorkshire. Procter's 109 innings of not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
in Gloucestershire's 135/3 in the 1974 John Player League
National League (cricket)
The NatWest Pro40 League was a one-day cricket league for first-class cricket counties in England and Wales. It was inaugurated in 1999, but was essentially the old Sunday League retitled to reflect the fact that large numbers of matches were played on days other than Sunday.-Sunday League:The...
- the lowest team total in List A cricket to include a century. He destroyed Worcestershire single handedly in 1977, scoring a century before lunch and taking 13 wickets for just 73 runs. He picked up another century before lunch in 1979, against Leicestershire, winning the Walter Lawrence Trophy
Walter Lawrence Trophy
The Walter Lawrence Trophy is an annual award made to the player who has scored the fastest century in English domestic county cricket that season, in terms of balls received...
for the season's fastest century, and then ripped through their batsmen with a hat-trick for good measure. Procter defied insurmountable odds in the very next game, against Yorkshire, by taking another hat-trick, all trapped leg-before. The potency of his muscular inswinging fast bowling can be seen by the fact that his feat of taking two hat-trick of LBWs is unique in the first class game. He captained them with distinction from 1977 to 1981 and was hugely popular with team mates and supporters alike. He was the Professional Cricketers' Association Player of the Year in 1970 and 1977 and won the Cricket Society Wetherall Award for the Leading All-Rounder in English First-Class Cricket in 1978.
As captain he led Gloucestershire to the Benson & Hedges Cup
Benson & Hedges Cup
The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals....
in 1977, as director of coaching he guided Northamptonshire CCC to their triumph in the 1989-90 Nat West Trophy final and in 1994 he was coach as Kepler Wessels
Kepler Wessels
Kepler Christoffel Wessels is a former South African cricketer who captained South Africa after playing 24 Tests for Australia. He was the first man to have played One Day International cricket for two countries....
' South African team stunned England at Lord's by 356 runs. As a player Procter had beaten England there in 1970 with the Rest of the World XI and won the Gillette Cup for Gloucestershire in 1973, scoring 94 and taking two wickets against Sussex.
"I never really bothered much about averages, I was more concerned with how the team did, so to never lose a big game at Lord's was a highlight, plus there was winning all the Super Tests in Australia during World Series Cricket and all those Currie Cups with Natal," Procter told Cricinfo "And, of course, winning all those Test matches in South Africa against the Aussies."
Style
As a bowlerBowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
, Procter had an awkward chest on action, seeming to bowl off the wrong foot at the end of an intimidating run. His unusual action generated late inswing which, in the right conditions, could be unplayable at times. He bowled at high pace in his pomp but later in his career knee problems caused by the impact of his bull like body on the bowling crease forced him to turn to off-spin. Typically he proved adept at this too. His muscular batting in the middle order was famed for its power, although based on a sound defence. He was one of those 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.
Match referee
Mike Procter has often attracted controversy in his career as a match referee. He refereed the forfeited Oval Test of August 2006 when Pakistan refused to take the field after tea in protest at the umpires’ decision to penalise them for ball-tampering. During the Second Test, 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar TrophySecond Test, 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy
The Second Test in the Indian cricket team's tour of Australia for the 2007–08 summer was a controversial Test cricket match played over five days at the Sydney Cricket Ground from 2 to 6 January 2008...
, Procter banned Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan....
for three matches on charges of racism. This decision was later overturned by Justice Hansen who found Andrew Symonds had instigated the confrontation and there was no credible witness (including Symonds himself) who could testify Harbhajan had used the word "monkey". Justice Hansen also questioned Clarke's credibility as a witness (refer to icc_commissioner_decision_30012008.pdf). Procter was widely criticized for failing to account for these facts in his original decision and some (most prominently Sunil Gavaskar) questioned whether his sympathies lay with the Australian team due to his race.
External links
- Player Profile: Mike Procter from Cricket Archive