Umpire Koertzen to retire in July

Top cricket umpire Rudi Koertzen will follow thousands of batsmen he has sent back to the pavilion by retiring in July, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday.

The 61-year-old South African, known for the painfully slow raising of his left arm to signal a batsmen's demise, will stand down after the second Test between Pakistan and Australia in Leeds on July 21-25.

It will bring the curtain down on an 18-year international umpiring career in which he would have stood in 106 Tests, a record 209 ODI matches and 14 Twenty20 internationals, the ICC said.

"It has been 18 incredible years for me as an international umpire and I have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it," Koertzen said in an ICC statement.

"I'll be more than happy to assist... young umpires if they need my guidance as cricket also teaches us to give something back to the sport. After 18 years in business, I think it is payback time," he added.

The ICC added that Marais Erasmus and Rodney Tucker have been included in the ICC's elite umpiring panel for the 2010-11 season, starting on July 1.

They will replace Koertzen and Mark Benson who stepped down in February