RIP Clive Rice

[caption id="attachment_93781" align="alignnone" width="630"] Clive Rice
Image by: Elvis Ntombela, Sowetan[/caption]

One of South Africa’s legendary cricketers‚ Clive Rice‚ has died.

Rice‚ who just turned 66‚ had been battling brain cancer.

He was described by author Peter Kirsten as one of the “most formidable gifted and competitive allrounders that any age of the game has ever seen”.

Rice was born on 23 July 1949.

He played cricket for South Africa and ended his first class career with a batting average of 40.95 and a bowling average of 22.49.

Rice's career coincided with South Africa's isolation from international sport due to its apartheid polices‚ but he did represent the country in three one day games in the early 1990s.

Rice was the captain of the Transvaal “mean machine” team which won the Currie Cup three times. He also played for Natal and Nottinghamshire.

Rice had a brain tumour which initially responded well to treatment.

Pat Symcox‚ former Proteas bowler‚ led the cricket world’s tributes for Rice‚ saying on Twitter: “Devastated...a great friend and wonderful man...Clive Rice has passed away. The world is a poorer place”.

“Sorry to hear about the passing of Clive Rice‚ ‘Ricey’… astute captain and a man that played the game hard!!‚” batsman Herschelle Gibbs tweeted while Paul Harris said‚ “Really sad to hear the news of Clive Rice passing away. Thoughts and prayers to his family #legend”.

“Clive Rice - RIP. You will be missed! The cricket family reaches out to the Rice family. #Legend #Icon‚” said Habib Noorbhai.

Fans of the game joined in‚ with Philip Sparks saying‚ “RIP Clive Rice. You were the original legend and inspired a generation” and Brett Fish Anderson commenting‚ “Oh No. RIP Clive Rice - one of the early guys who got me watching the game”.

“RIP to the man who rolled up his sleeves‚ I’ll never forget The Humdinger‚ the 1st game in India and the Mean Machine‚ Thank You Clive Rice‚” AG Kent ‏commented while Brendon Atwell tweeted‚ “A sad day in world cricket. Condolences to the family and friends of a true great - Clive Rice. A true leader and gentleman”.

- RDM News Wire.