Barry Richards leads tributes to ‘cricket giant’ Mike Procter

Barry Richards and Mike Procter

Long-time friend and teammate Barry Richards said "a giant has fallen" as he paid tribute to former South African all-rounder Mike Procter, who died aged 77 near Durban on Saturday.

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"We were part of each other's lives," said Richards of his 65-year friendship with Procter. Richards and Procter, acknowledged as two of South Africa's greatest cricketers, played against each other as schoolboys and went on to play together for the Natal province and South Africa at both junior and international level.
"Anyone who played for Natal, Rhodesia and Gloucestershire in the 1960s and 70s knew that they were in the presence of a genius," said Richards.

Vintcent van der Bijl, who formed a devastating new ball partnership for Natal with Procter, described him as "the most unpretentious great cricketer I knew." Van der Bijl said Procter was "a warrior on the field."

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