Leading cricket officials paid tribute to Rudi Koertzen as the South African prepared to bow out as an umpire in the second Pakistan-Australia Test starting at Headingley here on Wednesday.

The match, which is also the series finale, marks the end of the 61-year-old's career as a top-flight umpire, which will have encompassed 108 Tests, a record 209 one-day internationals and 14 Twenty20 internationals.