Caught in the Middle: Monkeygate, Politics and Other Hairy Issues; the Autobiography of Mike Procter by Mike Procter & Lungani Zama

Author:Mike Procter & Lungani Zama [Procter, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pitch Publishing
Published: 2017-05-28T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Growing up in the Currie Cup

WHEN I came back from my initial stint of second XI cricket in England in 1965, I knew that all I wanted to do was to be a professional cricketer. If there had been any lingering doubts, my summer in England, travelling the country, and pitting my wits against different players every single week, confirmed to me that I wanted to be a pro.

The only problem with that, of course, was that there was no professional cricket in South Africa at the time. Back in those days, first-class cricket was very limited, and we only played about six to eight matches a season. So, when they came around, those matches were pretty huge, because it was your one chance to prove yourself.

Before those matches, though, you had to play on the extremely competitive club circuit, which was the breeding ground for provincial colours. It saddens me when I see some of the great clubs of the past, real nurseries for some outstanding talent, diminish and pack it all in due to a shortage of players and general interest in the game.

When we were growing up, we knew that we had to quickly get into club cricket, because that was the stepping stone for higher honours. When I finished school, I started playing club cricket in Pietermaritzburg, for Collegians. I was working at Lambert’s, which was a clothing store in the middle of town. It was my first full-time job, and I was a salesman, working Monday to Saturday morning.

I would get off if I was playing club cricket on the Saturday, as our league had two separate competitions. There was the limited-overs Sunday games, but there was also ‘time cricket’, which started on Saturday afternoon and went into Sunday.

I realised at that stage that if I was going to make it all the way to the top, it was likelier to be as a bowler, than as a batsman. With my action, it also became clear to me that I needed a long run-up to make the most of my bowling style. So there was a need to get fitter.

I would go down to Maritzburg College after work, and I would do some extra training on my own, using their rugby field markings. I would walk from the tryline to the 22m, then jog to the halfway line, before sprinting to the other side. I eventually worked up the stamina to get through 50–60 of those runs in each session, and those sessions were of great value to me as the season wore on.

The following season, I moved back to Durban and played for Rovers. The club scene was even more competitive. It was common for hundreds of people to turn up at the weekend to watch a game, and there was no quarter given on the field.

Away from the game, I became a partner in a sports firm, along with Reg Wright, Dan le Roux and Les Salton, all famous footballers in their time.

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