Legendary South African cricketer Clive Rice passed away on July 28, 2015 — just 5 days after his 66th birthday — losing his battle against malignant brain tumour. Bharath Seervi presents statistical notes on him which proves his reputation as the greatest cricketer from South Africa.
Clive Rice’s international career has nothing to speak about.
South Africa were banned from international cricket for two decades due to the Apartheid rule, which tragically coincided with a major part of his career. The ban was put into effect right before he could He was however, no less than some of the great players of the 1970s and 1980s. He made his First-Class debut in 1969-70, and continued playing in the format for the next two decades before finally getting the opportunity play for his country in 1991, when South Africa were invited for their historic tour of India to mark the end of their international boycott. He could not play Tests, but led South Africa in their first ever One-Day International (ODI).
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Rice made his ODI debut in 1991-92 on their return, captaining the side at an age of 42. The three ODIs in that series were the only matches he played for South Africa. But by that time he was already established as a great all-rounder and captain with excellent records in First-Class and List A levels.
Let us see where he stands amongst the cricketers from South Africa and all-rounders of the Cricket world.
Most First-Class matches by South Africans
Rice was the first South African to appear in 400 First-Class cricket matches. He played his 400th match in 1986 for Nottinghamshire against Yorkshire. Two more South Africans played 400 matches after him — Mike Procter and Ken McEwan — but they retired before Rice. Clive Rice went on to play 482 (the most by any South African) matches till his retirement in 1993-94. The table below lists five most experienced First-Class cricketers from South Africa.
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| Player |
Matches |
Span |
| Clive Rice |
482 |
1969-70-1993-94 |
| Ken McEwan |
428 |
1972-73-1991-92 |
| Mike Procter |
401 |
1965-1988-89 |
| Rodney Ontong |
367 |
1972-73-1994-95 |
| Barry Richards |
339 |
1964-65-1982-83 |
Most List A matches by South Africans
Rice played almost an equal number of List A matches as well. He was the first South African to play 400 List A matches as well. His 400th appearance was in a Benson & Hedges Cup 1988 for Scotland against Derbyshire. After him, four South Africans got to the milestone of 400 List A matches — but Rice’s 479 stands the record.
| Player |
Matches |
Span |
| Clive Rice |
479 |
1970-71-1993-94 |
| Allan Donald |
458 |
1985-86-2003-04 |
| Shaun Pollock |
435 |
1992-93-2008 |
| Jacques Kallis |
424 |
1994-95-2014 |
| Ken McEwan |
409 |
1972-73-1991-92 |
Hence, Rice is the most experienced First-Class and List A cricketer from South Africa. He and McEwan are the only common players in the above two tables.
Rice had similar record in both formats with both bat and ball. His batting average was 40.95 in First-Class cricket and 37.32 in List A, while his bowling average was 22.49 in First-Class cricket and 22.64 in List A. He scored 26,331 First-Class and 13,474 List A runs, and claimed 930 First-Class and 517 List A wickets.
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Most First-Class cricket runs by South Africans
Only two South Africans scored more runs than Rice — Barry Richards and McEwan.
| Batsman |
M |
I |
NO |
R |
Ave |
100s |
50s |
Best |
| Barry Richards |
339 |
576 |
58 |
28358 |
54.74 |
80 |
152 |
356 |
| Ken McEwan |
428 |
705 |
67 |
26628 |
41.73 |
74 |
122 |
218 |
| Clive Rice |
482 |
766 |
123 |
26331 |
40.95 |
48 |
137 |
246 |
| Kepler Wessels |
316 |
539 |
50 |
24738 |
50.58 |
66 |
132 |
254 |
| Peter Kirsten |
327 |
568 |
59 |
22635 |
44.46 |
57 |
107 |
271 |
Most First-Class wickets by South Africans
Rice is amongst the top wicket-takers from South Africa as well. Only three bowlers took more First-Class wickets than him — Procter, Allan Donald and Charlie Llewellyn. They all three took over 1000 wickets.
| Bowler |
M |
W |
BBI |
Ave |
5WIs |
10WMs |
| Mike Procter |
401 |
1417 |
9/71 |
19.53 |
70 |
15 |
| Allan Donald |
316 |
1216 |
8/37 |
22.76 |
68 |
9 |
| Charlie Llewellyn |
267 |
1013 |
9/55 |
23.41 |
82 |
20 |
| Clive Rice |
482 |
930 |
7/62 |
22.49 |
23 |
1 |
| Hugh Tayfield |
187 |
864 |
9/113 |
25.91 |
14 |
2 |
Rice is the only common player in the above two tables.
South Africans with 10,000 runs and 500 wickets in First-Class cricket
There is a reason behind the notion that South Africa has produced more quality all-rounders than any other country. There are eight South Africans with more than 10,000 runs and 500 wickets in First-Class cricket. Rice has a difference of 18.46 in his batting and bowling average — the second-best among the eight.
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| Player |
M |
R |
Bat Ave |
W |
Bowl Ave |
Bat Ave – Bowl Ave |
| Trevor Goddard |
179 |
11289 |
40.60 |
534 |
21.65 |
18.95 |
| Clive Rice |
482 |
26331 |
40.95 |
930 |
22.49 |
18.46 |
| Mike Procter |
401 |
21926 |
36.00 |
1417 |
19.53 |
16.47 |
| Eddie Barlow |
283 |
18212 |
39.16 |
571 |
24.14 |
15.02 |
| Andrew Hall |
242 |
11072 |
35.26 |
639 |
27.88 |
7.38 |
| Charlie Llewellyn |
267 |
11425 |
26.75 |
1013 |
23.41 |
3.34 |
| Sidney Martin |
267 |
11511 |
27.02 |
532 |
28.31 |
-1.29 |
| Rodney Ontong |
367 |
15234 |
29.46 |
845 |
31.34 |
-1.88 |
Rice’s batting average is the highest and bowling average is third- best among players in the table above.
Rice, Procter and Rodney Ontong are the only South Africans with 15,000 runs and 750 wickets in First-Class cricket.
Highest difference in batting and bowling average of players with 25000 runs and 750 wickets in First-Class cricket
Comparing his career figures with other all-rounders who scored more than 25,000 runs and took over 750 wickets in First-Class cricket, Rice stands amongst the very best. His difference in batting (40.95) and bowling (22.49) averages is a whopping 18.46. Only three players in the history of First-Class cricket have better average difference than Rice —
Garry Sobers, WG Grace and Frank Woolley. That is a great set of all-rounders to be with.
| Player |
M |
R |
Bat Ave |
W |
Bowl Ave |
Av Diff |
| Garry Sobers |
383 |
28314 |
54.87 |
1043 |
27.74 |
27.13 |
| WG Grace |
870 |
54211 |
39.45 |
2809 |
18.14 |
21.31 |
| Frank Woolley |
978 |
58959 |
40.77 |
2066 |
19.87 |
20.90 |
| Clive Rice |
482 |
26331 |
40.95 |
930 |
22.49 |
18.46 |
| Mushtaq Mohammad |
502 |
31091 |
42.07 |
936 |
24.34 |
17.73 |
In all, 16 players have completed the double of 25000 runs and 750 wickets in First-Class cricket.
Most runs in List A cricket by South Africans
With 13,474 runs Rice is one of the top run getters among South Africans in List A cricket as well.
Jacques Kallis is the only South African who has scored more runs in List A cricket than Rice.
| Batsman |
M |
I |
NO |
R |
Ave |
100s |
50s |
HS |
| Jacques Kallis |
424 |
406 |
65 |
14845 |
43.53 |
23 |
109 |
155* |
| Clive Rice |
479 |
444 |
83 |
13474 |
37.32 |
11 |
79 |
169 |
| Kepler Wessels |
337 |
331 |
30 |
12503 |
41.53 |
15 |
90 |
146 |
| Herschelle Gibbs |
388 |
370 |
32 |
11976 |
35.43 |
27 |
62 |
175 |
| Ken McEwan |
409 |
396 |
42 |
11866 |
33.51 |
16 |
69 |
162* |
Most wickets in List A cricket by South Africans
Rice was the first South African to 400 and 500 List A wickets for South Africa. His 517 wickets in List A career have been surpassed by only two South Africans — Donald and
Shaun Pollock — both legends of the sport.
| Player |
M |
W |
BBI |
Ave |
4WIs |
5WIs |
| Allan Donald |
458 |
684 |
6/15 |
21.84 |
27 |
11 |
| Shaun Pollock |
435 |
573 |
6/21 |
22.93 |
18 |
7 |
| Clive Rice |
479 |
517 |
6/18 |
22.64 |
19 |
6 |
| Makhaya Ntini |
275 |
388 |
6/22 |
25.28 |
9 |
6 |
| Andrew Hall |
318 |
365 |
5/18 |
27.59 |
11 |
2 |
Rice had a slightly better bowling average than Pollock’s.
Players with 10,000 runs and 500 wickets in List A Cricket
In List A cricket only four players have completed the double of 10,000 runs and 500 wickets. Rice is one of them. The others are
Imran Khan,
Ian Botham and Shahid Afridi. Rice has the best difference between batting and bowling average among the four.
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| Player |
M |
R |
Bat Ave |
W |
Bowl Ave |
Bat Ave – Bowl Ave |
| Clive Rice |
479 |
13474 |
37.32 |
517 |
22.64 |
14.68 |
| Imran Khan |
425 |
10100 |
33.22 |
509 |
22.22 |
11.00 |
| Ian Botham |
470 |
10474 |
29.50 |
612 |
24.94 |
4.56 |
| Shahid Afridi |
499 |
10869 |
25.04 |
509 |
33.73 |
-8.69 |
Clive Rice as captain
Rice captained in 263 of the 482 First-Class cricket matches he played. In List A matches, he captained in 322 out of 479 he played in his career.
Rice finds his name among highest run-getters, highest wicket-takers and best all-rounders in both the formats. He is an absolute legend of a cricketer South Africa ever produced.
Rest in peace, Sir.
(Bharath Seervi is a cricket statistician who is obsessed with digging numbers, facts and records related to the game. An active member of Society of Cricket Statisticians of India, he blogs at www.cricketseervistats.blogspot.com. He can be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SeerviBharath and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SeerviCricket) 
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