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Cape Town - Former South African fast bowler Craig Matthews has recalled what a fierce competitor Clive Rice was on the domestic scene.
Rice, 66, passed away on Tuesday morning after having battled brain cancer.
Matthews toured India under Rice's captaincy in 1991, but it was in their battles domestically before then that Matthews remembers Rice at his toughest.
"It was an interesting experience because when you played against him he had a huge persona in the media," said Matthews.
"He used to come down to Cape Town for those New Year’s Currie Cup games where you used to get crowds the size of international crowds today. He used to call us the ‘mountain goats’.
"You built up a certain perception about him. I found him as a captain to be less loud and abrasive in a team environment. He was quiet, went about his business and knew what he wanted from each player.
"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."
Matthews echoed what Mike Procter had said earlier on Tuesday, saying that Rice would've been remembered as one of cricket's great all-rounders had he enjoyed a full international career.
"He was just an absolute legend. He played the game hard and was always very fair," said Matthews.
"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."
