Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Aug 9: Rudi Koertzen, a renowned South African umpire, passed away on Tuesday. A head-on collision at Riversale claimed the lives of the renowned match referee along with three other victims. Koertzen’s son Rudi Koertzen Jr. provided Algoa FM News with confirmation of the development.
“He went on a golf tournament with some of his friends, and they were expected to come back on Monday, but it seems they decided to play another round of golf,” said his son.
Former India hitter Virender Sehwag was among the first to honour the illustrious umpire as soon as this event was made public.
“Vale Rudi Koertzen ! Om Shanti. Condolences to his family. Had a great relation with him. Whenever I used to play a rash shot, he used to scold me saying, “Play sensibly, I want to watch your batting. One he wanted to buy a particular brand of cricket pads for his son,” tweeted Sehwag.
And enquired about it from me. I gifted him and he was so grateful . A gentleman and a very wonderful person. Will miss you Rudi. Om Shanti pic.twitter.com/gdSHGOoYg8
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) August 9, 2022
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In 1992, Koertzen presided over his maiden international game. He was then selected as an International Cricket Council (ICC) umpire on a full-time basis in 1997. After Steve Bucknor, he was the second umpire to oversee more over 200 ODIs and 100 Test matches.
In the 2003 and 2007 World Cup finals, he served as the third umpire. In 2010, he declared his umpiring career over. The Test between Australia and Pakistan was his final contest as an umpire.
