Former umpire Rudi Koertzen passes away in a car accident

Former South African umpire and a member of ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, Rudi Koertzen, passed away, aged 73, in a car crash on August 9, Tuesday. Three others were killed after a head-on collision during the accident. He officiated in international cricket from December 1992 to July 2019, standing in 108 Test matches, 209 ODIs, 14 T20Is and one WT20I. 

Koertzen’s son Rudi Koertzen Jr said that he (Koertzen) was out for a golf tournament with his friends and was expected to be back from Cape Town on Monday. Koertzen stands third in the list of umpires to have stood in the most number of Test matches, behind Aleem Dar and Steve Bucknor.

“He went on a golf tournament with some of his friend, and they were expected to come back on Monday, but it seems they decided to play another round of golf”, Koertzen Jr said told Algoa FM News.

Koertzen – one of the first members of ICC Elite Panel

In his first ODI as the umpire, the TV replays were used for the first time in international cricket to make run-out decisions. He was very well-known for signalling out with a slow raise of the finger, which is why it was popularly called “the slow finger of death”.

Koertzen became a full-time umpire of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1997 and later became one of the members Elite Panel when it was founded in 2002. He was only the second umpire after England’s David Shepherd to umpire in 150 ODIs in 2006 and the second umpire after Bucknor to stand in 100 Tests in 2009.

Koertzen was often appointed for big fixtures such as India versus Pakistan and Australia versus England in the Ashes, among many others. He was officiated in a World Cup semifinal and final. In total, he also officiated as the third umpire in 20 Test matches, 41 ODIs and five T20Is. Koertzen also officiated in 28 first-class matches, 59 List-A matches and 74 T20s in the domestic circuit. He also stands second on the list of umpires to gave stood in ODIs, and second overall across formats.