Umpire Rudi Koertzen Dies. Virender Sehwag Says “Had A Great Relation With Him”
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. His son added, “He went on a golf outing with a few of his pals, and they were supposed to return back on Monday, but it seems they chose to play another round of golf.”
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.
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.
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