Terrible trio Hayden, McGrath and Symonds were umpires' worst nightmare: Koertzen

Sydney, Aug 28 : Retired South African umpire Rudi Koertzen has identified former Australia players Matthew Hayden, Glenn McGrath and Andrew Symonds as the most difficult players in world cricket.

When asked who was the toughest bowler he had to umpire to, Koertzen, who stood in 108 Tests between 1992 and 2010, said: “Glenn McGrath, because of the way he acted on the field.”

“He wasn’t one of the happiest guys. He always moaned and whinged. If he wasn’t getting wickets and the batsmen were hitting him for a few fours, he got a bit personal and upset,” The Australian quoted Koertzen, as saying.

The 61-year-old further said that Symonds and Hayden needed to be closely policed in the field.

“There was always the odd individual who had to be babied all the time. You had to be like a policeman to them,” Koertzen said.

“A fielder like Matthew Hayden or Andrew Symonds, you always had to be alert when they were on the field because something was going to happen. If you didn’t pick it up as soon as possible things were going to get out of hand,” he added.

Koertzen had announced his decision to retire in June, and his last assignment as an international umpire was the second and final Test between Australia and Pakistan played at Headingley from July 21 to 24.