He took up a journalism position with the News of the World,[98] beginning as a police roundsman before becoming a sports columnist. Newspaper reports said he drank champagne 'through a straw'. That TV commentary style lent itself to much mimicry, and his pronouncements, carefully rationed, were widely regarded as gospel. After retiring, Benaud became a commentary icon, with the BBC and later for Channel 4 in the UK and also in his native Australia. [7] As a specialist batsman, he made his first-class debut for New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground against Queensland in the New Year's match of the 194849 season. In 2017, the Australian Mint issued a 50-cent coin commemorating Benaud. It came from Jeff and I'm glad he told me because I didn't know why.'. She remained in the Beecroft house as the boys grew up, seeing their father 'now and again for birthdays'. [106], Benaud became a staunch advocate of cricket being available on free-to-view TV. [37] At this stage of his career, he had yet to perform consistently with bat and ball simultaneously, apart from his breakthrough series in the Caribbean. Reaction to the death of former Australian cricket captain and commentator Richie Benaud, known as the 'Voice of Cricket'. Often bare-headed, and a somewhat stooping, rangy figure at the crease, he cracked a century in both the Johannesburg Tests, averaged 54 in the series, and took 30 wickets at a rate of just under 22 runs each in the five Tests. He led from the front with his bowling, taking match figures of 7/112 in his debut as captain as Australia claimed the First Test in Brisbane. It was another lean series with the ball, Benaud's 17 wickets costing 40.47, the third consecutive series where his wickets cost more than 30. [87], Upon his return, Benaud advised the Australian Cricket Board that it would be in the better interests of the team if Simpson continued as captain for the remainder of the season. Opening the batting, he struck 135 in 110 minutes in the second innings, including an Australian record of eleven sixes, four of them in one over. [7] Although his form with the willow dropped off in his remaining six matches before the Testsa 35 was his only score beyond 20 in seven attemptsBenaud continued to strike regularly with the ball. It was not the first time he had been hospitalised by a blow to the head. 2. Richie Benaud died on April 10, 2015, after being diagnosed with skin cancer. A veteran of 63 Test matches,. [41], In the Second Test at Cape Town, Benaud took 4/95 and then 5/49 in the second innings to secure an innings victory after the home team were forced to follow on. [20] Benaud struck an unbeaten 100 and totalled 1/64 in the next match against Western Australia before the Australians departed for England. He had been receiving treatment for skin cancer since November. He was attacked by the touring batsmen, taking 1/75 from 16.5 overs in his first outing against an international outfit. [31], The 196162 Australian season was purely a domestic one, with no touring international team. [4], On his third and final tour to England in 1961, he was hampered by damaged tendons in his right shoulder, which forced him to miss the Second Test at Lord's known as the "Battle of the Ridge". The lawsuit against Richie Benauds estate involves complex trusts and superannuation funds both in Australia and overseas, the NSW Supreme court was told on Friday. However, he did not have much success in his five games, taking only five wickets at 54.00. . 'Not as much as when we were children. He made 124 runs at 20.66, making double figures in four of seven innings, but was unable to capitalise on his starts, with a top score of 45. Richie Benaud's 90th birth anniversary celebrated in new Cricket Benaud contributed 46 and match figures of 2/73 in a First Test victory at Kingston. [107], Benaud commentated for the BBC TV highlights of the 200607 Ashes in Australia as part of his continuing commentary work for Australia's Nine Network. Like all fans of the sport, I will miss him very much.. Greg remembers him filing newspaper stories down the phone to copytakers and instructing them to wait until he read it back, 'reading it back on 5-4-3-2-1'. He scored 47 not out and took 3/37 in an innings win over Queensland. His instinctive, aggressive captaincy and daring approach to cricket and his charismatic nature and public relations ability revitalised cricket interest in Australia. She said that after their split, Richie Benaud had preferred to keep his past quiet and that she was not encouraged to call 'Coogee', the name she used to refer to Richie and Daphne Benaud when they were in Sydney at their apartment. Only seven runs were required with four wickets in hand as time was running short. I made chicken soup and we had roast chicken and salad. Cricket icon Richie Benaud, who distinguished himself first as a leg-spinning all-rounder, then as a daring Australian Test captain and later as the . [76], In another match against Victoria, he ordered his team to attempt to score 404 on the final day to take an unlikely victory in accordance with a promise to score at 400 per day. [58] A further seven wickets from the captain in the Fifth Test saw Australia secure a draw and the series 21. This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 20:19. [75] His aggressive tactical style brought large crowds throughout the season, with almost 18,000 watching one match against South Australia. [7], At this stage of his career, he had played 13 Tests with mediocre results. If I knew, when I was at school and playing in my early cricket days, the problems that would have come if I didnt do something about protection of the head and using sunscreens and all sorts of things like that, Id have played it differently. Richie Benaud would have a fleet of cars, in particular Sunbeam Alpines, the last of which he would crash in October 2013, a hospital stay for serious injuries which would lead doctors diagnosing Benaud with skin cancer. Death date: 10 April, 2015, Friday. Benaud scored 78 and 68 and took a total of 5/238, his dismissals being Davidson and frontline Test batsmen in a 121-run win. In an early tour match Benaud took his best first class innings haul of 1810187 for New South Wales against the MCC, which lost by an innings and 80 runs, the state's biggest win against the English team. Benaud was recalled to the New South Wales First XI in late December for the Christmas and New Year's fixtures. Benaud had an ineffective match with the ball, taking 1/162. In November, he revealed he was being treated for skin cancer. [61], The Test was tied when Solomon ran out Ian Meckiff with a direct hit. RIP Richie Benaud. 'But it suited [Richie] to keep it quiet, and so that's how it was kept.'. 'Dad thought it was important not to cut us off from our grandparents,' Greg said, 'and so we kept in contact with Nan and Pa Benaud and Nanna and Grandpop Lavender and continued to visit them when Dad was overseas. Within hours of his death, Tony Abbott, the Australian prime minister, offered Benauds family a state funeral. Marcia had thought Richie's hanging up of the bat would bring him home. Its one of those things in life: you live and learn as you go along.. [7], In his early career, Benaud was a batting all-rounder, marked by a looping backlift which made him suspect against fast bowling but allowed him to have a wide attacking stroke range. This was exhibited in the 196061 Test series against the visiting West Indians, in which the grounds were packed to greater levels than they are today despite Australia's population doubling since then. Abbott described him as the voice of cricket. [6][7] New South Wales were the dominant state at the time, and vacancies in the team were scarce, particularly as there were no Tests that season and all of the national team players were available for the whole summer. Prince Andrew has 'offered to manage prestigious Royal estates including Balmoral but King Charles has told PLATELL'S PEOPLE: Yes, Madonna toyboys are fun but not if you value your dignity. Wedding bells: Pretty young typist Marcia Lavender pictured after marrying Richie Benaud in January 1953, days after Benaud had been hit in the mouth during a Test match against South Africa and had trouble kissing the bride because of the stitches in his lip, Second love: Following Richie Benaud's divorce from first wife Marcia in March 1976, he married English secretary Daphne Surfleet in July (pictured on their wedding day) and there began a romance and partnership which ended only with his death in April from cancer, Daphne and Richie Benaud (pictured in 2005) travelled the world with his international cricket commentating career, and thought he saw his sons infrequently, his eldest Greg, said Daphne and been 'kind and fair over the years'. At this point, Australia had already taken an unassailable 31 series lead and decided to try out some young players. Will always be remembered and admired. In 1958 he became Australia's Test captain until his retirement in 1964. [30] His fielding, in particular at gully and short leg, was consistently of a high standard, in particular his acrobatic catch to dismiss Colin Cowdrey. Source: Cricinfo, 22 December 2007. The unprecedented public interest saw the Caribbean touring party farewelled with a ticker-tape parade by the Australian public. Benaud, born in Penrith, New South Wales, enjoyed a successful career as a wily leg-spin bowler and middle-order batsman. Richie Benaud (1930-2015) *84, Grave #86215750 - Sysoon Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Ken Bruce finishes his 30-year tenure as host of BBC Radio 2, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Hershey's Canada releases HER for SHE bars featuring a trans activist, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Family of a 10-month-old baby filmed vaping open up. [19] Even so, he was promoted to vice-captain above several senior players when Ian Johnson and Keith Miller missed the 2nd Test at Sydney through injury and Arthur Morris was made temporary captain. 'He told me I should cut my hair for the funeral, but not to take toomuch off,' Greg told Daily Mail Australia. The tour saw his bowling talents come to the fore when he took 106 wickets,[40] surpassing the previous record of 104 by England's Sydney Barnes. Marcia Benaud, who always refers to her only husband as 'Rich' rather than 'Richie', spoke about the fantastic life she had with Benaud, the young Test cricketing star she had been married to in the 1950s and 60s, and their two sons she had sometimes struggled to raise in the years since. Richie Benaud dies aged 84 - rolling reaction - the Guardian [5] Lou later moved to Parramatta region in western Sydney, and played for Cumberland. [10] He had more success with the bat, scoring 93 and narrowly missing a century against South Australia. Three of the Tests were drawn, Australias Bill Lawry, Bob Simpson and Ken Mackay scoring at a snails pace (matched by Geoff Pullar, Ken Barrington and Cowdrey for England). whose family has been offered a state funeral after his death at the age of 84. He was 84. He is survived by Daphne, by his sons, and by his brother, John. [6], In November 1948, at the age of 18, Benaud was selected for the New South Wales Colts, the state youth team. After Don Bradman, there has been no Australian player more famous or more influential than Richie Benaud.. Marcia Benaud kept her surname 'for the sake of my sons. The Caribbeans were skittled for 134 in reply and went on to lose the match, although they attacked the young leg-spinner, who took 1/130 in total from 36 overs. Reaction to the death of former Australian cricket captain and commentator Richie Benaud, known as the 'Voice of Cricket'. With an attacking partnership, the pair took Australia to within sight of the target. He became the first player to reach 200 wickets and 2,000 runs in Test cricket, arriving at that milestone in 1963. She rushed to St Vincent's Hospital where he was having his mouth stitched. [7], The 195152 season saw a tour to Australia by the West Indies. The cricketer turned broadcaster had been battling skin cancer and recovering from the after-effects of a car accident . Regular boundaries and quickly-run singles took the score to 226, a seventh-wicket partnership of 134. Greg Benaud said he and brother Jeffrey met Australian Test players, such as Alan Davidson and Arthur Morris, who his father invited round for team meetings in the garage of the Beecroft home, 'starting off with Davo leading a prayer and then they would discuss tactics and show 8mm home moves of games'. He ended the series with 200 runs at 25 and eight wickets at 42.5. Australian Test captain Michael Clarke said Benaud was a gentleman who played cricket in the right spirit. He sustained a cracked sternum and shoulder injuries. But that extraordinary five-match encounter produced electrifying batsmanship, and bowling that was less concerned with shutting the game down than keeping it moving. Up to this point, in seven matches for the season, the young all-rounder had only scored 307 runs at 27.90 and taken ten wickets at 64.80. Oscar Cainer tells all. He made 140, in a seventh-wicket partnership of 255 in just 176 minutes, an Australian record that still stands. Richie Benaud - Wikipedia Shane Warne, Australia's record wicket-taker, made a particularly, said Benaud's passing was "a sad day for Australia", adding: "We have lost a cricketing champion and Australian icon. It could have killed him if it had struck him where his skull was previously fractured. [124], Benaud was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1961 for services to cricket. When live Test cricket disappeared from the BBC in 1999 he moved to Channel 4, and when terrestrial broadcasting ended in 2005 he refused to switch to pay TV. [7] from around the world following the news of Benaud's death. At the time, Ms Benaud said she was upset she hadn't been invited to her former husband's funeral. [49] Benaud produced an all-round performance of 46, 5/91 and 4/82 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide to take an unassailable 30 series lead and regain the Ashes,[50] before scoring 64 and match figures of 5/57 to help take the Fifth Test and a 40 series result. Greg said that instead of cricket he chose to study architecture after leaving school in 1972, but never finished his degree 'for various reasons I can't talk about' said he had 'worked at various things, any job'. During the interview, Ms Benaud revealed details her life with Richie before she was left 'devastated' when he left her to marry his second wife, Daphne. Benaud, who was born in Penrith, just west of Sydney, into a family of Huguenot origin, had a keen cricketer for a father. [119] He died in his sleep on 10 April 2015. He played the game the right way., Our country has lost a national treasure, Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards said in a statement. The chairman of selectors, Sir Donald Bradman, made it clear that he was keen to see Test cricket rescued from a period of dull introversion, and the two captains approached the series in a positive frame of mind. Link to video: Richie Benaud became a household name for a whole new generation when he moved from the oval to the commentary box. Greg said that in the days before cricketers were well paid ''I tried to understand that Dad didn't have a lot to spare as fare as helping us. 'He likes to keep his privacy.'. 'There was the odd phone call from England,' she told Daily Mail Australia. Born October 6, 1930, Benaud was a legend by every definition on the book, but there . Richie Benaud Dead: Legendary Cricket Commentator Dies At 84 or debate this issue live on our message boards. Former Australia captain and legendary cricket commentator Richie Benaud has died at the age of 84. For the following Australian season in 195253, Benaud started modestly; and, in the five first-class matches before the Tests, he scored 208 runs at 26.00, including a 63 and 69, and 14 wickets at 38.64. Swanton. She and Richie Benaud had a second son Jeffrey in 1958, 'Dad said his cricketing commitments and distances for touring teams put strains on marriages.'. As a captain, he never lost a Test series. Five days before their wedding and listening to the match on the radio, Marcia heard that her fianc had been struck in the lip while fielding. EXCLUSIVE: Head teacher of leading grammar school is sacked for sending parents a list of striking teachers. Over the first years of their marriage, Benaud would tour overseas with the Australian cricket team to the West Indies, England, India, Pakistan and South Africa. The pharmacist, Ivan James, suggested a treatment with calamine lotion and boracic acid. Richie Benaud. Benaud retired from international cricket in 1964 and turned to full-time cricket journalism and commentary, for which he already had runs on the board with the BBC. She kept me informed so that I knew when Dad was sick. Benaud took 3/116 to complement scores of 43 and 90 on his return in the Third Test in Sydney. ', Home territory: Richie Benaud was the king of the commentary box and at complete ease on cricket grounds around the world including the SCG (above), but as he forged his international commentary career he saw less of his two sons by first wife Marcia, Marcia Benaud said: 'I was at the stage where I preferred to be happy with a little, than rich and unhappy and so I accepted it and I haven't seen him since that day in court.'. Benaud built his reputation as a commentator following an outstanding playing career in which he took 945 wickets in 259 first-class matches and made 11,719 first-class runs, scoring 23 centuries at an average of 36.50. [64][65] In Adelaide, with Davidson absent, Benaud bowled long spells to take match figures of 7/207 in addition to a score of 77 in the first innings. [16] He suffered a smashed gum and a severely cut top lip when a square cut by John Waite in the Third Test against South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground hit him in the face while he was fielding at short gully. I know Mum found it difficult to live on ten pounds a week. [91] In 196768 he captained a Commonwealth team against Pakistan, playing in his last five first-class fixtures. Our nation has lost an icon, he said at a media conference. Richie Benaud dead | The Australian Plastic surgeon reveals five cosmetic procedures she would NEVER get - from dangerous Brazilian butt lifts BEL MOONEY:Why does caring for my dad take over my life? I've had enough of life': Grandmother, 86, is reduced to tears after killjoy Tory RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: As Florida governor and Donald Trump rival Ron DeSantis steps up his bid to win the Hairy Bikers star Dave Myers speaks out on his deep depression after chemotherapy which left him having 'How I snatched JK Rowling's baby out of her abusive husband's arms - and helped her flee with the Harry Top equestrian rider, 39, once known as the 'golden girl' of horse eventing, is facing jail after being A possum feared extinct is discovered by an amateur naturalist in Papua New Guinea being cooked on a Now California reparations panel RAISES amount it wants to give 1.8m black people from $220,000 to $360,000 My weekly horoscope: What will March 4th 2023 bring for MY star sign? He was 84 years old. [47] Benaud's men won the Second Test,[48] before he took 5/83 and 4/94 in the drawn Third Test. When, a few months later in England, Benaud took veteran Ray Lindwalls advice and bowled his leg-spin around the wicket into the rough, when all seemed lost in the Old Trafford Test, his wicket-taking that afternoon ensured that Australia retained the Ashes and raised the captain close to sainthood in the estimation of his team and his country. In his final Ashes series, in 1962-63, the tempo reverted to that of the bad old days. Reaction to the death of the 'Voice of Cricket' Benaud | Reuters Following the divorce hearing in the NSW Supreme Court, Richie Benaud was required to pay Marcia and her sons ten pounds per week. Overall he played in or commentated on approximately 500 Test matches, as he himself noted in one of his final interviews in Britain when asked if he would miss Test cricket. Greg Benaud had just turned twelve and his brother Jeffrey was nine. [117], Benaud had last handed "Baggy green" caps to Simon Katich and Mitchell Starc when they made their test debut, but Benaud's own was lost early in his Test career, and former captainnow commentator and the Director of Cricket Australia, Mark Taylorwas to present the replacement cap to him at the semi-final of the 2015 Cricket World Cup between Australia and India at the SCG, but Benaud was too unwell to attend, and when the cap arrived at Channel 9 headquarters, it was the day before Benaud died.
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