'Very good umpire, excellent colleague' - Aleem Dar pays tribute to late Rudi Koertzen

Pakistan’s Aleem Dar, a member of the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, paid tribute to former South African umpire Rudi Koertzen, who passed away on August 9, Tuesday, calling him a good umpire and an excellent colleague. Dar said that because of the way Koertzen was, he was well-respected by the players as well.

Dar called Koertzen’s untimely death a big loss for his family, South Africa and cricket. Meanwhile, another South African umpire Marais Erasmus said that Koertzen was a strong character both physically and mentally, adding that he paved way for South African umpires to get to the world stage.

“It is a very big loss, foremost for his family, and then for South Africa and cricket,” Dar was quoted as saying by India Today. “I stood in so many games with him. He was not only very good as an umpire but also an excellent colleague, always very cooperative on the field and also always willing to help off the field. Because of the way he was, he was also well-respected by players.”

As a young umpire, I learnt a lot from him: Erasmus

“Rudi was such a strong character, physically and mentally. He paved the way for South African umpires to get to the world stage. Made us all believe it’s possible. A true legend. As a young umpire, I learnt a lot from him,” Erasmus said.

Koertzen’s son revealed that the former umpire was returning from Cape Town after a golf tournament at the weekend before the car crash took place. Koertzen, aged 73, along with three other others, was killed after the mishap. He officiated in international cricket from 1992 to 2010.

Koertzen was one of the first members of the ICC Elite Panel in 2002 and even officiated in a World Cup semifinal and final. He overall stood in 108 Test matches, 209 ODIs, 14 T20Is and one WT20I. He is third on the list of umpires to have stood most number of Test matches, and only the second umpire in ODIs to stand in 150 matches.