One of the most iconic umpires of yesteryear is now no more. We’re talking about South Africa’s Rudi Koertzen who passed away yesterday at the age of 73 years, and the cricketing world will always remember him as a great friend and umpire. He began umpiring all the way back in 1981, and became a full-time official eleven years later in 1992.
The rest as they say is history. When news came out of this former umpire passing away yesterday, the entire cricketing fraternity was in shock. Tributes began pouring in on social media from some of the greatest cricketers from across the world, as well as from other ICC umpires, and cricket fans in general.
Social media tributes to Rudi Koertzen
Let’s first talk about the big organisations and media houses who spoke about his death. Having officiated in 108 Tests, he was a major part of the ICC panel of umpires and they were quick to post a tribute to the former umpire. They put up a throwback post of him getting a guard of honour on the final day of him umpiring in Test cricket. ESPNcricinfo posted a photo of him posing with his iconic slow finger dismissal style!
Rudi Koertzen was given a guard of honour on his final morning as a Test umpire pic.twitter.com/XxClq4gNEF
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 9, 2022
The iconic slow finger of Rudi Koertzen ☝️ pic.twitter.com/aiyJpg8nl7
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 9, 2022
A lot of former Indian cricketers tweeted about the sad demise of umpire Koertzen as well. Yuvraj Singh called him among the best umpires of his time while Virender Sehwag tweeted saying, “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”.
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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 (cont) pic.twitter.com/CSxtjGmKE9
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) August 9, 2022
His death happened because of a car accident and it was really shocking for everyone to hear about. Some of the South African cricketers also posted about Koertzen, including legendary all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who called him one of the finest gentlemen of the sport. Irfan Pathan, Kumar Sangakkara, Waqar Younis, Brian Lara, and many other greats also left tributes.
A player's umpire. My friend Rudi officiated in some of the most memorable moments that I had on the cricket field, including my final International game, World Cup 2007. He embraced his job and did it with an excellent love for the sport.
Will miss you!
RIP 💔#RudiKoertzen pic.twitter.com/DgyNqQYntk
— Brian Lara (@BrianLara) August 10, 2022
A lot of former Australian cricketers also posted about the sad demise of Rudi Koertzen. This included former World Cup winning captain Ricky Ponting who referred to the umpire as a great friend and wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist posted saying Koertzen officiated on the days where Gilly himself brought out some of his best international knocks.
Two moments in my career I’m most often asked about. Quick ton v England in Perth and walking in WCup Semi v SL. Umpire on both occasions was Rudi Koertzen. Iconic figure in the game. A great umpire and great friend. RIP mate. 😢💔
— Adam Gilchrist (@gilly381) August 10, 2022
A lot of teams and franchise clubs from across the world also posted similar tributes, with most of them putting up videos of Koertzen’s style of slowly raising up his finger at the time of dismissals. Many accounts also posted that you’re never truly a cricket fan if you didn’t imitate Koertzen’s style of giving batsmen out at some point of time in life.
Indian fans may have often had a little bit of disliking towards Koertzen because he gave our favourite batsman Sachin Tendulkar out several times during his career, sometimes while even batting in the nineties. But Sachin himself called Koertzen a friend and was among the first to write a tribute message for him on social media.
I first met Rudi in 1992 & we became good friends over the years. He was a warm-hearted person who always greeted players with a big smile. He commanded respect from one & all.
My heartfelt condolences to his loved ones. He’ll be dearly missed. 🙏🏻
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 9, 2022
We wish his family all the strength and love, and hope that his soul may rest in peace. Until next time, Rudi. For similar sports and cricket updates from around the world, stay tuned to ReadScoops.com…
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