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Umpire Koertzen bows out after dramatic last Test
South Africa umpire Rudi Koertzen said he would miss Test cricket as his 18-year international career came to a thrilling conclusion.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: July 24, 2010 02:15 PM IST
Read Time:2 min
Leeds:
The 61-year-old, in what was his 108th and last Test before retirement, had an eventful final session after walking out through a guard of honour formed by the players.
Pakistan needed just 40 runs for victory but a thrilling 65 minutes of action saw Koertzen given some tough calls before Pakistan clawed their way to a three-wicket win.
Koertzen, renowned for his deliberately 'slow hand' method of giving batsmen out, correctly rejected a couple of impassioned Australian appeals before referring a claim for a Mike Hussey catch in the gully to the third umpire, who ruled in Pakistan's favour.
"This morning I thought I'll have a nice and easy day, then they started putting pressure on me to see if the old guy can handle it," Koertzen told Sky Sports afterwards.
"That's cricket. It's an amazing sport and I was so honoured to be part of it and I'll definitely miss it.
"I am really looking forward to retirement. I've got a few things in the pipeline but I am looking forward to taking a break and spending time with my family."
Koertzen made his Test debut in the Boxing Day Test between South Africa and India at Port Elizabeth in 1992.
He also stood in a record 209 one-day internationals and 14 Twenty20s.
South Africa umpire Rudi Koertzen said he would miss Test cricket as his 18-year international career came to a thrilling conclusion in the series finale between Pakistan and Australia here Saturday.The 61-year-old, in what was his 108th and last Test before retirement, had an eventful final session after walking out through a guard of honour formed by the players.
Pakistan needed just 40 runs for victory but a thrilling 65 minutes of action saw Koertzen given some tough calls before Pakistan clawed their way to a three-wicket win.
Koertzen, renowned for his deliberately 'slow hand' method of giving batsmen out, correctly rejected a couple of impassioned Australian appeals before referring a claim for a Mike Hussey catch in the gully to the third umpire, who ruled in Pakistan's favour.
"This morning I thought I'll have a nice and easy day, then they started putting pressure on me to see if the old guy can handle it," Koertzen told Sky Sports afterwards.
"That's cricket. It's an amazing sport and I was so honoured to be part of it and I'll definitely miss it.
"I am really looking forward to retirement. I've got a few things in the pipeline but I am looking forward to taking a break and spending time with my family."
Koertzen made his Test debut in the Boxing Day Test between South Africa and India at Port Elizabeth in 1992.
He also stood in a record 209 one-day internationals and 14 Twenty20s.
Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket Australia Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team
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