Former international cricket umpire Rudy Kerzen has died in a car accident. He was 73 years old. Kerzen, who is known for slowly lifting his fingers, collided head-on with three others near Riverdale, his son Rudy Kerzen Jr. confirmed. Kerzen was returning from golf at Nelson’s Mandela Bay when the tragic incident occurred. 

 Legendary South African referee Rudy Kerzen passed away on Tuesday. A high-profile match official and three others were killed in a head-on collision near Riversail. 

“He went on a golf tournament with some of his friends, and they were expected to come back on Monday, but it seems they decided to play another round of golf,”

his son, Rudy Kerzen Jr. said

As soon as this news was announced, former Indian batsman Virender Sehwag was one of the first  to pay tribute to the legendary referee. 

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

 Kerzen officiated his first international match in 1992. 

Rudy Kerzen was then appointed as a full-time umpire of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1997. He was his second umpire in charge of 100 tests, with his ODI over 200, after Steve his backer. 

He  also served as his third referee in his 2003 and his 2007 World Cup finals. In 2010, he ended his umpiring career. His last match as an umpire was a test between Australia and Pakistan. 

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 Kerzen, who started umpiring in 1981 and played the first international match  between India and South Africa in Port Elizabeth in 1992, held a high record until his retirement in 2010 with 331 international matches. He became  the second umpire in history to officiate more than 150 ODIs after the legendary David Shephard and was also the second to stand in 200 Tests trailing after Steve Bucknor, one of the original members of the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires in 2022.

“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.” 

Marais Erasmus, the former South African umpire expressed