Roy McLean

Roy Alastair McLean (9 July 1930 – 26 August 2007) was a South African cricketer who played in 40 Test matches between 1951 and 1964. A stroke-playing middle-order batsman, he scored over 2,000 Test runs, but made 11 ducks in 73 Test innings.

McLean was born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, and educated at Hilton College. and was a strong enough rugby player to represent at fly-half. He played against the touring Australian rugby union team later in 1953, scoring a drop-goal as fly-half for Natal to win 15–14. In the 3rd Test, at Old Trafford, he hooked Frank Tyson for four several times in the second innings, hitting 50 in 71 minutes before he was run out: South Africa won with 9 balls to spare. He was the South African Cricket Annual Cricketer of the Year in 1955.

He played all five Tests when New Zealand toured in 1961–62, a final two Tests against England in South Africa in 1964–65, and retired from first-class cricket in 1966. He became an insurance salesman. He was survived by his wife of 51 years, Barbara, and their three daughters.

Bibliography of works Sackcloth Without Ashes (1958), Hodder & Stoughton.