Rudolf Eric Koertzen was born on March 26, 1949, in Knysna, South Africa. Koertzen made his international debut in 1992 in both ODI and Tests during India’s South Africa tour. He was known for his style of raising his index finger very slowly to adjudge batsmen out and hence nicknamed “Slow death.” He has officiated in some of the high profile matches such as the world cup semifinals in 2003 and 2007 and the champions trophy finals in 2004 and 2006.
Rudy was selected to umpire in the ICC super series in 2005. Even he had ups and downs in his career. He was highly praised for his refusal of a bribe in the 1999 Coca-Cola cup final between India and West Indies in Singapore. On the other side, his misinterpretation of the rules regarding bad light, in the 2007 world cup finals, led to his suspension from the T20 championships later that year.
He was awarded ICC Bronze Bails Award for 100 ODIs, ICC Silver Bails Award for 200 ODIs, and ICC Golden Bails Award for 100 Tests. Koertzen is the first umpire to achieve all three of these awards. Aleem Dar then achieved this feat.
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