Clive Rice, the former South Africa captain and Nottinghamshire all-rounder, has died in a Cape Town hospital aged 66.
He had been suffering from a brain tumour and visited India in March to have radiation treatment in Bangalore.
His family said he was admitted to hospital on Sunday with severe stomach pains.
South Africa will wear black armbands when they take on Bangladesh during Thursday’s second Test in Dhaka and Cricket South Africa flew its flag at half-mast in Johannesburg as a mark of respect.
Nottinghamshire said in a statement: “Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is saddened to announce that former captain and cricket manager Clive Rice has passed away aged 66.”
They described him as “one of the shining lights in Nottinghamshire’s side in the late 1970s and 1980s, helping the county secure the County Championship title in both 1981 and 1987.
“On his debut season with Nottinghamshire, the all-rounder took 53 wickets and registered 1,128 runs in the championship, and along with Sir Richard Hadlee, who arrived at Trent Bridge in 1978, forged a 10-year partnership which secured many honours for the club.” In 1981 he was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
He returned to Trent Bridge as cricket manager in 1999, a position he held until 2003.
Rice notably encouraged the South African-born Kevin Pietersen to join Notts in 2000 from where he went on to represent England. Pietersen wrote in his autobiography that Rice was “a great early influence on me”.
On the international front Rice’s career suffered in that it coincided with South Africa’s sporting isolation but at the age of 42 he was named captain of the team to tour India in 1991, where they played three ODIs, following the lifting of international boycotts over their apartheid policies.
Months later he was controversially left out of the squads for the one-off Test against West Indies and the 1992 World Cup.
His first-class career comprised 482 matches, primarily for Transvaal, Natal and Nottinghamshire, and he scored 26,331 runs at an average of 40.95. He took 930 wickets at 22.49 apiece between 1969 and 1994.
The ICC chief executive and former South Africa international David Richardson paid tribute to him, saying: “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.
“When South Africa was readmitted to international cricket in 1991, it was fitting that Clive was named as captain.
“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.”
The CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat said: “Clive was our first captain and we knew him to be a great fighter all his life.
“Even during his last few years he put up a typically courageous and inspirational fight against the illness that had threatened him for a lengthy period of time.”
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