Former South African cricket umpire Rudy Queertzen has died in a car accident.
On Tuesday, a family member of Rudy Quirtzen told the French news agency AF that Rudy Quirtzen died in a car accident.
His age was 73 years.
"Roddy sustained fatal injuries following an accident near Stilby, between Cape Town and Gakibarha," a family spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
"My dad went to a golf tournament with some friends and was supposed to be back on Monday but we thought he decided to play another round of golf," his son Rudy told Gakibarha radio station.
It may be recalled that Rudy Queertzen first umpired in 1981 while 11 years later he took up his first international assignment.
He later retired after the 2010 Test between Australia and Pakistan at Leeds.
He also came to be known as the 'Slow Finger of Death' because he raised his finger very slowly to signal the dismissal of any batsman.
"Every umpire has his trademark and that was mine," Rudy Quirtzen said in an interview. The media called it the 'slow finger of death' and I found it quite interesting. There is a story behind it.
"When my umpiring career first started, I would hold my hands out in front of me and put them against my ribs whenever there was an appeal," said Rudy Quirtzen.
"Someone said to me, 'Roddy, you shouldn't do that.' Every time you raise your hand to connect them, the bowler thinks you are going to give him a wicket.
So I started holding my wrists from behind. So the finger slowly comes out as I take time to release my grip.'
