‘A giant of the game’
Richardson gives tribute to Rice:
Clive Rice was a giant of the game, not just in South Africa, but across the cricketing world. Though his international appearances for the Proteas were limited to just three ODIs, Clive was a hugely inspirational figure for those of us who had the privilege to represent our country since readmission to international cricket in 1991 and it was fitting that Clive was named as captain of the national team on that historic first tour to India.
Clive was hugely regarded across the world game as a player, but later as a coach and mentor where he inspired the likes of Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock and Jonty Rhodes, and he will be greatly missed by those who knew him. On behalf of the ICC I would like to extend our condolences to his wife Sue and children at this difficult time.
‘An absolute legend’
Matthews recalls Rice:
He was one of those captains who got the best out of every single person who was in his team. It was just a great honour to have the opportunity right at the end of his career to play under him on that iconic tour of India. He was just an absolute legend. He played the game hard and was always very fair…Unfortunately he never had the opportunity at the height of his career to play on the international stage, because he would have been one of the great all-rounders the world had seen.
A ‘true SA cricket legend’
Els pays tribute to Rice on his passing.
My sincere condolences to the loved ones of Clive Rice, who passed away today. True SA cricket legend. #RIPCliveRice
— Ernie Els (@TheBig_Easy) July 28, 2015
Clive Rice dies aged 66
Rice dies from septicemia in Cape Town, South Africa. His family say he was admitted after suffering from severe stomach pains.
Brain tumor treated in India
Rice has CyberKnife robotic radio surgery in Bangalore, India to treat brain tumor which can not be treated using regular surgery methods.
When they tell you they can do nothing about the medical condition in SA and you are going to die, you need to have a plan B in place. That was my plan B. You have to be proactive.
The surgery is successful.
It went very well and I feel good. It went much better than I had expected. You cannot believe how fantastic the technology is (in India). I experienced no pain during the treatment and the fear that the cancer would spread to my left has also dissipated. I received CyberKnife treatment for three hours.
Great All-Rounder book
Bacher includes Rice among the greats in his book Jacques Kallis and 12 other Great South African All-Rounders.
He was one of the first cricketers to really place an emphasis on physical fitness. After training he would sprint around the field and he always said he just wanted to be the fittest cricket around so when the time came to play Test cricket he would be ready.
Speaks about anti-apartheid demonstrations
Rice speaks about being the target of anti-apartheid demonstrations:
At the time we (SA) were the skunks of the world. Clearly there was the odd occasion when there were anti-apartheid demonstrators around and sport was certainly a focus of their attention. There were a few incidents when people made a stand against me being on the field but you just had to put up with that and carry on playing the game. As a player there was nothing you could do, you were lumbered with SA’s ridiculous apartheid laws.
Brain tumor diagnosis
Rice learns he has a large brain tumor.
It’s called an acoustic neuroma and it’s about 4cm long. The good news is that it’s benign, although removing it will cost me the hearing in my left ear.
On Bacher’s advice, he plans to have surgery in Hanover, Germany.
Ali told me that some things are negotiable – but in this case he was not prepared to negotiate with me. He insisted that I go to Hanover because that is were I will get the best possible treatment. I was planning on having the surgery done in South Africa, but I took Ali’s advice.
International debut
0 0 Gina Gina2015-07-28 09:39:282015-07-28 18:02:51International debutMeets Mother Teresa
On South African cricket team’s tour of India, Rice meets Mother Teresa. He later writes:
I was very concerned that the media were going to knock her over as they pushed for position to take this photo. What an amazing woman because the people that she had there did not know where their next grail of rice was coming from.
Selected to tour Australia
Rice is selected for South Africa’s tour of Australia. Due to South Africa’s apartheid policy, the tour never takes place.