DURBAN, May 26: Krish Mackerdhuj, the first non-white to be appointed president of South Africa's United Cricket Board (UCB), died of a heart attack here on Wednesday.

Mackerdhuj, 64, replaced Ali Bacher as the UCB's second president from 1992-1998 before becoming South Africa's ambassador to Japan until the end of 2003.

Bacher said Mackerdhuj had been an instrumental figure in securing the right for South Africa to host the 2003 World Cup. "He and I went to Lord's in February, 1993 for a 12-hour meeting on future World Cups, and he ensured at that meeting that we would host the tournament 10 years later," Bacher said.

He added Mackerdhuj had been a "champion for non-racial sport and cricket" and an "outstanding ambassador for South African cricket". "We had a warm and close relationship," Bacher said. "Before unification he was perceived as a hard-liner, but he was a soft, compassionate person."

Cassim Docrat, chief executive of the KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union, said Mackerdhuj was an important figure in the history and unification of South African cricket. -Reuters