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SCC mourns after shock death of sports pioneer

SINGAPORE — The death of Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) president Michael Grice yesterday was described as a great loss for Singapore sport.

SINGAPORE — The death of Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) president Michael Grice yesterday was described as a great loss for Singapore sport.

Grice, 70, took over the helm of the storied Padang club in April. In a statement yesterday, the SCC said Grice had passed away in the early hours of yesterday morning “following an accidental fall at the club”.

Sources told TODAY that Grice was found unconscious after having apparently fallen at the staircase leading to the restrooms. He was taken to the hospital where doctors pronounced him dead at 5am.

Said the SSC statement: “Michael had enjoyed a memorable day at the SCC’s Twenty/20 Tournament, where he spoke with his usual passion and wit to fellow sportsmen and women attending the tournament dinner.”

A minute’s silence was observed before yesterday’s final of the 2014 SCC Twenty/20, a tournament that the club’s general manager Nigel Stearns credited as Grice’s brainchild for its inauguration in 2009.

“He didn’t invent the tournament but for sure he was instrumental in organising the SCC’s Twenty/20 tournament,” said Stearns, for whom Grice will always be remembered as man whose passion and love for the club and cricket was unquestionable.

Dr Harjit Singh, president of the Johor Cricket Council, described Grice as a true gentleman.

“I knew him when I was playing cricket for Malaysia in the matches against Singapore at the Padang, and I will remember him as a soft-spoken man,” said Harjit. “He was a nice guy, ever polite and never had a bad word to say about others.”

Lawyer Mahmood Ghazvani a longtime SCC member, described Grice as a man who had worked tirelessly for the club for four decades.

“Whatever he did it was for the improvement of the club,” said Mahmood. “I find it hard to deal with the sudden loss of a true gentleman who was well-liked and easily accessible.”

Former journalist Suresh Nair remembers Grice as someone involved for many years in organising the SCC Soccer 7s, which attracted the likes of Kevin Keegan, Geoff Hurst and Osvaldo Ardiles to the Padang.

“A gentleman with no airs, he was a volunteer extraordinary, spending countless hours at SCC, having his hand in every major sporting activity from football, rugby, hockey, cricket, netball, tennis, squash and lawn bowls,” said Nair, who noted how Grice rose from the club grassroots to be the President. “You’re one of a kind, Grice, I will never forget you as a Padang role model.” DAN GUEN CHIN

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