Legendary Clive Rice dies
The former SA cricket captain died in Cape Town this morning.
CLIVE Rice died earlier today, according to reports, from a brain tumour. He was 66.
Rice was a former captain of the South African cricket team.
He was a highly respected all-rounder, and famously captained the South African team upon its return to international cricket on the ‘Friendship Tour’ to India in 1991.
He was then controversially omitted from the team to play in the Cricket World Cup in early 1992.
Rice played most of his cricket for then Transvaal (now Gauteng), the team being known as the ‘Mean Machine’.
However, he did do a stint with the Dolphins, and played a mentoring role in the development of the likes of Andrew Hudson, Jonty Rhodes and others.
In his heydey, he played for the SA team in unofficial ‘rebel’ tours against England, West Indies and Australia during the early and mid 1980s.
Rice also often dominated the Hong King 6s tournament, and played county cricket in England for Nottinghamshire.
Rice was known as a gutsy competitor, who would often salvage victory from the jaws of defeat.
He fought hard against the brain cancer, too, even travelling to India for surgery.
Sadly, he would not win this fight, and died in hospital in Cape Town this morning.
