Cricket South Africa has mourned the tragic passing of former umpire, match referee and administrator Brian Basson.

The 76-year-old Basson passed away in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

He served cricket with distinction, first as an umpire and later as a match referee, before becoming the general manager of cricket operations for Cricket South Africa.

‘It is with great sadness that we have heard of the passing of Brian,’ said CSA chief executive officer Thabang Moreo.

‘He will always be remembered for the work he did in charge of our cricket operations after earlier being a highly respected umpire and match referee.

‘On behalf of the CSA family, I extend our deepest sympathy to his family, his friends and his colleagues in the cricket community.’

Basson is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Earlier this year, former Proteas women’s all-rounder Elriesa Theunissen-Fourie died in a motor vehicle accident. Her child also passed away in the accident.

Theunissen-Fourie was part of South Africa’s World Cup squad in 2013 and played three ODIs and one T20I in the same year.

‘This is a dreadful tragedy in the true sense of that word,’ said Moroe at the time.

‘This is devastating news for all of us. Elriesa did so much for the community in which she lived and gave excellent service, both as a national player of note and in the work she did at grassroots level to help in the less fortunate communities.’

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