Koertzen becomes most capped ODI umpire

Rudi Koertzen of South Africa Saturday became the most capped cricket umpire when he officiated in a West Indies-England World Cup match, his 173rd One-Day International (ODI) here.

Koertzen, who has also officiated in 80 Test matches, thus beat the all-time record set by retired Englishman David Shepherd, who had officiated in 172 ODIs.

Koertzen, 58, made his international debut Dec 9, 1992, in a match between South Africa and India in Port Elizabeth. Today, he is one of the game's most respected officials.

A member of the Emirates Elite Panel of umpires since 2002, Koertzen stood in the 1999 and 2003 World Cups -- including the Australia-Sri Lanka semi-final in Port Elizabeth in 2003 that was also his 100th ODI.

Koertzen also stood in the 2002 and 2004 Champions Trophy tournaments, the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal match in Melbourne in January 2005 and the Johnnie Walker Super Series Test match between Australia and the ICC World XI in Sydney in October 2005.

"Rudi's achievement is testament to his remarkable consistency and enormous ability as a decision-maker," said Doug Cowie, umpires manager of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

"He has proved himself to be unyielding, resilient, dependable, loyal and dedicated, all qualities that are needed to make it to the top of his profession and he has been an outstanding performer for many years now."

Most ODIs appearances by umpires:

Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) 173 matchesDavid Shepherd (England) 172Steve Bucknor (West Indies) 161Daryl Harper (Australia) 141Darrell Hair (Australia) 131Simon Taufel (Australia) 115Billy Bowden (New Zealand) 114David Orchard (South Africa) 107Steve Dunne (New Zealand) 100

(IANS)

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