A 46-year-old man — thought to be former Namibian and South African domestic cricketer Louis Vorster — was shot dead in Muldersdrift on Tuesday night, Gauteng police said.
He was leaving a filling station when a gold Volkswagen with two men inside blocked his way, said Lieutenant Colonel Tshisikhwawe Ndou.
One of the men walked up to him and fired a shot at him, while the other went to the passenger side of his vehicle and grabbed a bag. They fled.
“He was declared dead at the scene,” said Ndou, adding that a murder case had been opened. He could not confirm whether the person who died was Vorster.
Earlier on Tuesday night, Sport 24 reported that news of Vorster’s death had surfaced on the social networking site, Twitter.
The circumstances surrounding his death were unclear, but he was shot outside Pretoria, it reported.
Among the tweets Sport 24 referred to was one by Proteas’ all-rounder Albie Morkel: “Tonight I’m crying like a baby! Lost a great friend! Rip Louis Vorster..#anothercrimevictiminSA!!”
Former Proteas’ spinner Pat Symcox tweeted: “Louis Vorster ex-cricketer gunned down MURDEReD outside Pta!Soooo sooo sad.What a nice guy”.
Proteas’ batsman Jacques Rudolph posted: “Another senseless murder in SA … RIP Louis Vorster”.
There was also a post by South African swimmer Ryk Neethling: “A great man’s life was violently ended tonight. R.I.P Louis Vorster”.
Vorster made his first class debut in the 1985/86 season and represented Northern Transvaal, North West, Namibia, Matabeleland, Transvaal, and the country of Worcestershire in England.
His last listed first class match was for Namibia against Easterns in Windhoek in October 2009.
He scored 4 786 first class runs at an average of 33.23, with a highest score of 188. — Sapa