South African cricket legend Mike Procter passes away at 77

South Africa cricket legend and former national coach Mike Procter died on Saturday at the age of 77, his wife confirmed to international news agency AFP.

“He suffered a complication during surgery, became unconscious and never woke up,” Maryna Procter said.

Procter was an outstanding all-rounder who became South Africa’s first coach in the post-isolation era and had a controversial stint as an International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee.

On Monday his family revealed that he had suffered a “cardiac incident” while recovering in a hospital intensive care unit following routine surgery.

Procter was being treated in a hospital near his hometown, the coastal city of Durban.

Procter’s international playing career with South Africa was cut short in 1970 when his country was banished from world cricket because of its apartheid government.

However, he refused to feel bitter over being deprived of a lengthy Test career.

“Yes, I lost a Test career. But what is a Test career compared to the suffering of 40 million people?” he famously said.

Procter leaves behind his wife and two children.