Former South African umpire Rudi Koertzen, labelled the 'slow finger of death' by the media, has died in a car accident, a family member told AFP on Tuesday. He was 73.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Rudi suffered fatal injuries after an accident near Stilbaai between Cape Town and Gqeberha," said the family spokesperson, who requested anonymity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"My father went to a golf tournament with some friends and they were expected to come back on Monday, but it seems they decided to play another round of golf," his son Rudi told a Gqeberha radio station.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The South African team will wear black armbands on Wednesday in honour of Koertzen when they face England at Lord's in London in a Test match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Koertzen first umpired in 1981, handled his maiden international assignment 11 years later, and retired in 2010 after a Test between Australia and Pakistan in Leeds, England.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He became known as the 'slow finger of death' because he very slowly raising his finger whenever indicating a batsman was out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Every umpire has their trademark and that was mine. The media labelled it the 'slow finger of death' and I found that pretty interesting. There is a story behind it," Koertzen said in an interview.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"When my umpiring career first began, I used to hold my hands in front of me and every time there was an appeal, I would fold them against my ribs," said Koertzen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The someone told me 'Rudi, you cannot do that. Every time you raise your hands to fold them, the bowler thinks you are going to give him a wicket'."<\/p>\r\n\r\n