The lost diamond

Mike Procter would surely have strode the international scene like a colossus were it not for the tide of opinion finally turning against South Africa's Apartheid policies in 1970.

At his peak, his all-round talents were like a force of nature: roaring in like a hurricane, he was the type of fast bowler to give you goose bumps; his batting had all the lethal power of a volcanic eruption. But he also showed the finer skills required to be an inspirational captain and he even operated with success as an off-spinner when conditions warranted it.

His playing days over, he assisted South Africa on their return to the international stage in 1991 as their coach and is now a respected ICC match referee, fulfilling his duties with good sense.

Achievements
Procter was a legendary match-winner for Gloucestershire for 13 years, the biggest stage allowed to him due to politics, and the sight of him steaming in from extra cover on a grey day in Bristol was a thrilling one.

But Procter at the crease, carting bowlers high and handsome, was no less thrilling and he is one of the few cricketers who could genuinely win matches with either bat or ball on a consistent basis.

His first national call-up came against the Australians in 1967 and, although he played just six more Tests, all against Australia at home, he quickly established himself as the spearhead of a potent attack. Sheer pace was not his only weapon, he could also swing the ball late or prodigiously and had a fearsome bouncer, and 41 Aussies were winkled out in those seven Tests, at a cost of just 15 runs apiece.

If there were any doubts about the quality of the Australians (and there shouldn't have been), Procter quickly dispelled them as he went about building one of the most successful county careers of all time.

He virtually single-handedly lifted Gloucestershire from the lower reaches of the county championship to second in 1969 with over a hundred wickets and in 1970 he entered the record books alongside Sir Donald Bradman and C.B. Fry with six successive centuries for Rhodesia.

Four centuries for Gloucestershire followed in 1971, the last lifting them from 28 for three to a target of 201 in just over two hours against Yorkshire.

He nailed Worcestershire good and proper 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, 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.

Procter also made a considerable mark back home and is the only player to make over 500 runs and take 50 wickets twice in a domestic season, in 1971-72 and 1972-73, when he took a then record 59 wickets in eight Currie Cup matches.

What makes him special
Procter was nothing short of a wrecking ball whether batting or bowling. But, in a first-class career spanning 24 years and 401 matches, he never lost his relish for winning matches. Day in and day out for Gloucestershire, he carried the burden of being the strike bowler, best batsman and latterly the captain. No wonder there was a public demand for a Procter Stand to be added to the Grace Gates, Hammond Suite and Jessop Tavern at the Bristol County Ground.

Procter was a natural, seemingly able to conjure up the brilliant best of his talent at will (which didn't help him when, as a coach, he was trying to help other players). Former county colleague Brian Brain spoke about how the South African would just pick up any bat he found in the changeroom: "The amazing thing is that he will play with any bat he picks up; he never seems to worry about the weight, balance or pick-up of a bat, he just goes out there and hammers it. He is a natural."

But Procter was not just a blacksmith when it came to batting - he had an orthodox technique and the bat generally came down straight.

This orthodoxy did not, however, extend to his bowling action and many a pundit has entered into the debate as to whether Procter bowled off the wrong foot. But his whirlwind, chest-on action generated big inswingers, which were nice to watch, but he also had the skill to swing the ball late, which was more likely to nail the batsman. And his bouncer hit more than enough batsmen on the head.

But, like all the cricketing geniuses, Procter was also able to adapt and, on a raging turner, he could also be a matchwinner with his big-spinning off-breaks.

Finest hour
Oddly for such an inveterate individual match-winner, Procter himself rates team successes as his finest hours. Particularly his extraordinary record at Lord's in major matches. As captain he led Gloucestershire to the Benson & Hedges Cup there in 1977, as director of coaching he guided Northamptonshire 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 the home of cricket by 356 runs. As a mere player, Procter beat 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 says. "And, of course, winning all those Test matches in South Africa against the Aussies."

Achilles heel
Crippling injuries. Procter's knees first let him down in 1968 and continued to play up until surgery was required in 1975. But he kept throwing himself back into battle with unquenchable spirit, strength and stamina.

A cricketer gifted with such enormous talent was probably not the right man to be doing throw-downs in the nets when he coached South Africa for the first three-and-a-half seasons of their international return. While such an experienced player was able to give tremendous support in terms of strategy, his successor, Bob Woolmer, was more adept at discussing the less obvious technical issues that were dogging lesser cricketers.

How history views him
History is unable to judge Mike Procter fairly, simply because fate decreed his time on the international stage would be so short. But his record in county cricket ranks comfortably alongside the other great all-rounders of his era - Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Ian Botham and Sir Richard Hadlee. Those who followed his exploits for Gloucestershire, Rhodesia or Natal scarcely needed to exaggerate for effect and posterity will also remember him as clearly loving what he was doing, a hearty smile never far from his face either on the field or off.

Life after cricket
Lest there is any doubt that Michael John Procter lives for cricket, he has been involved at practically every level of the game. After his playing days, he has served as a coach, a director of coaching, a selector and a match referee. He says, however, that umpiring will remain noticeably absent from his CV. "That's way too tough a job!"

After heading up South Africa's return from isolation - he was the coach for their first 17 Tests and 56 one-day internationals - Procter became an ICC referee in 2001. Known to generally steer clear of controversy, Procter had a rough time of it in August 2006 when he was the match referee for the England/Pakistan Test at the Oval that was forfeited by the visitors after umpire Darrell Hair penalised them for ball-tampering.