Former South African Cricket Umpire Rudy Kurtzen dies in car accident

Tags: Sports

Former South African international cricket umpire Rudy Kurtzen died on 9 August in a car accident near the town of Riverdale.

Important facts

• 73 year old Koertzen is survived by his wife and four children.

• One of the most respected umpires in world cricket from the late 1990s to 2010, Kurtzen officiated in nearly 400 international matches.

• Umpire Rudy Kurtzen and three others were killed in a one-on-one collision.

• Kurtzen was returning home to 'Nelson Mandela Bay' from Cape Town after playing golf over the weekend.

• He had gone to participate in a golf competition with some near friends.

• Kurtzen became the umpire of the ICC (International Cricket Council) elite panel in 2002 and was a part of it for eight years.

• He played the role of on-field and third umpire in 397 international matches during his tenure.

• He has officiated in 128 Tests, 250 ODIs and 19 T20 Internationals.

• His 18-year career as an umpire is a record broken by Aleem Dar of Pakistan before his retirement in 2010.

Controversy in his career

• There were also some controversies associated with him.

• He continued the 2007 Cricket World Cup final match between Australia and Sri Lanka in low light by misinterpreting the rules.

• After this, he was not appointed by the ICC as an umpire in the first season of the T20 World Cup.

• The inaugural T20 World Cup 2007 was held in his own country, South Africa.