Renowned cricket broadcaster Richie Benaud passed away on Friday in Sydney. ", said: "Farewell Richie Benaud. Benaud, born in Penrith, New South Wales, enjoyed a successful career as a wily leg-spin bowler and middle-order batsman. The tour included seven first-class matches, three of which were unofficial Tests. [7], The 195152 season saw a tour to Australia by the West Indies. [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. Richie Benaud, ace all-rounder, captain, journalist, and doyen of commentators, passed away on April 4, 2015. In October 2018, Benaud became the 40th Legend in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. [125] In 1999, he was awarded a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Sports Broadcaster. [109] Chris Barrie of Red Dwarf fame incorporated impressions of Benaud into his stand-up repertoire. Richie Benaud was an all-time great all-rounder cricketer, a crafty leg-spinner who captured 248 wickets in 63 Tests, an attacking lower-order batsman who hit one of the fastest Test centuries, a brilliant gully . He ended the series with 200 runs at 25 and eight wickets at 42.5. Talking about her marriage to the onetime Australian cricket captain, Ms Benaud's eyes filled with tears and she said: 'He shouldn't have left'. He came from a cricket family, with his younger brother John Benaud also going on to become an Australian Test cricketer. [72] Benaud then took four wickets in the drawn Fifth Test to end the series 21. He was known for his unbuttoned shirt, and raised eyebrows with his on-field exuberance. No comments have so far been submitted. Abbott described him as the voice of cricket. [4] Educated at Parramatta High School, Benaud made his first grade debut for Cumberland at age 16, primarily as a batsman. ', Marcia said she waited two years to get divorced, 'because of my sons.' 'I thought when he retired we would be a family together again,' she said. There will never be another Richie Benaud. A personal letter from Richie Benaud to a young English leg-spinner almost 20 years ago has emerged as a touching example of the great cricketer's personal qualities and deep respect for his fans. 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. Benaud's highest Test score of 122 was made against South Africa, His best Test bowling effort of 7 for 72 was against, He captained Australia in 28 Tests: 12 wins, 11 draws, 1 tie, 4 losses. In 1952-53 Benaud played against South Africa, recording a duck and having his front teeth smashed while fielding at gully in the Sydney Test, which coincided with his honeymoon. [31] He was unable to maintain the standards he had set in the West Indies, contributing little apart from the Lord's Test. [42] He followed this with 5/114 in a drawn Third Test,[43] before a match-winning all round performance in the Fourth Test in Johannesburg. After scoring 60 and 37 and taking 1/60 in an Australian XI against the South Africans following the Test, he was selected for the Second Test. [124], Benaud was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1961 for services to cricket. 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. A petite and gracious lady with a merry laugh and a gentle demeanour, Marcia Benaud has lived a 'contented' life a world apart from the public life Richie Benaud led with second wife Daphne. He was 84 years old. By Andrew McGarry. Benaud, whose witty one-liners from the commentary box resonated far beyond. The world of sport reacts to the news that former Australia captain and broadcaster Richie Benaud died overnight at the age of 84. We will remember him forever. [7] This was part of a month-long run in which he made only 123 runs in eight innings and took only seven wickets in four matches. At this point, Australia had already taken an unassailable 31 series lead and decided to try out some young players. Former Australia cricket captain and renowned commentator Richie Benaud has died aged 84. whose family has been offered a state funeral after his death at the age of 84. [91] In 196768 he captained a Commonwealth team against Pakistan, playing in his last five first-class fixtures. Richard (Richie) Benaud, cricketer and commentator, died on April 10th, aged 84. [61], The Test was tied when Solomon ran out Ian Meckiff with a direct hit. Reaction to the death of former Australian cricket captain and commentator Richie Benaud, known as the 'Voice of Cricket'. [8] He contributed significantly with both bat and ball in New South Wales' Sheffield Shield triumph, the first of nine consecutive titles. [4], Benaud was not a large spinner of the ball, but he was known for his ability to extract substantial bounce from the surface. [4] Benaud had the tendency to bowl around the wicket at a time when he was one of the first players to do so; it had an influence on spin bowlers like Shane Warne and Ashley Giles. The boys played cricket in the yard and at school, where Jeffrey made the school eleven and Greg 'started as an off break bowler and ended up as leg spin'. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, Mom who lost both sons to fentanyl blasts laughing Biden, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' According to Eryk Bagshaw of The Sydney Morning Herald, Benaud had been in hospice care while. There would be very few Australians who have not passed a summer in the company of Richie Benaud. [113][123], Benaud was buried on 15 April, in a private funeral ceremony attended only by his immediate family. [119] He died in his sleep on 10 April 2015. 'I watched all the broadcasts. He ended the Test series with 15 runs at 3.00 and two wickets at 87.00. [4], Johnnie Moyes said "Certainly Benaud received a little help from the roughened patches, but he could do what the off-spinners could not do: he could turn the ball, mostly slowly, sometimes with more life. Some famous Benaud phrases and one-liners: "It's gone straight into the confectionary stall and out again"", "And Glenn McGrath dismissed for two, just ninety-eight runs short of his century", Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards said Benaud was "the iconic voice of our summer", while the Australian government has. [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. 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. 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. Richie Benaud, pictured during his touring days as Australian Test captain had an interest in cars, particularly Renaults and Sunbeams, and passed that interest down to his sons Greg and Jeff, Richie Benaud (pictured) married his second wife Daphne, an ardent cricket fan, in 1967 and together the couple forged a remarkable partnership during which the former Test captain became a legend behind the microphone. [93] Benaud was regarded as one of the finest close-fielders of his era, either at gully or in a silly position. 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. [12] Hassett struck 179 in four hours, and took 47 runs from Benaud's seven overs. [7][14] Benaud ended his season with 97 and a total of 3/39 in an innings win over South Australia.[7]. [8], He also showed his hitting ability in a tour match against T.N. He was the mainstay in Australian cricket television commentary until the past two summers - a car accident in 2013 sidelined him before he announced in November last year that he was fighting skin cancer. In addition to his accurate probing consistency, he possessed a well-disguised googly and topspinner which tricked many batsmen and yielded him many wickets. 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. Four years previously he had been hit in the face while batting for New South Wales 2nd XI in Melbourne. Although both sons played cricket at the private boys school they attended, Barker College in Sydney's northern suburbs, neither went on to play representative cricket after school like their father and grandfather. [114][115], On 29 October 2008, Benaud's mother, Irene, died, aged 104. Marcia Benaud kept her surname 'for the sake of my sons. The selectors persisted in Benaud despite his unproductive Test performances, selecting him for the squad for the 1953 Ashes tour of England. 'When I heard that it was serious and Greg told me he had got [the cancer] in its bloodstream, I accepted that whatever God decided to do would be right,' she said. In England, Richie met Daphne Surfleet, who had worked for the English cricket writer E. W. Swanton. R ichie Benaud, Australia's legendary cricket captain and commentator, died in Sydney on Friday, his family said. His career in television then took off, while his contract with the News of the World was to proceed for half a century until the paper closed in 2011. Kissing the bride was [tricky],' Marcia told Daily Mail Australia. [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. His first series as skipper was remarkable for a number of reasons. [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. But I will be doing all sorts of, what I regard as, interesting things for Channel Nine on the cricketspecial features on the cricket". The Ashes were retained in England in 1961, though a shoulder injury kept Benaud from the Lords Test, which was won by Australia under Harvey. [7] However, this was not enough to ensure his selection in the First Test, where he was made 12th man. Despite this, Benaud told chairman of selectors Don Bradman that he would still be going for an improbable victory in accordance with his policy of aggression. [19] It was thought that the surface at the Oval would favour pacemen, but Australia's selection proved to be a blunder[21] as England's spinners[22] took them to the only win of the series, allowing them to regain the Ashes. He added another fifty and ended with 250 runs at 31.25. Marcia said that from time to time when people inquired about her name, she would quietly respond that yes, she was the first Mrs Richie Benaud. [7] Benaud was the only bowler selected for all five Tests of the 195455 series when England visited Australia. Thus, the 2005 Ashes series was the last that Benaud commentated on in Britain. [29], During the 1956 tour to England, he helped Australia to its only victory in the Lord's Test, when he scored a rapid 97 in the second innings in 143 minutes from only 113 balls. He led his country in 28 Tests and never lost a series as Australian captain. 65/-. Australia's chances of winning looked remote when they reached tea at 6/109 with 124 runs still required with only the tailenders to follow. 6 October 1930 City of Penrith: Date of death: 10 April 2015 Sydney: Manner of death: natural causes; Cause of death: cancer; Country of citizenship: Australia; Country for sport: Australia; Educated at: Parramatta High School; Occupation: cricketer; journalist; Benaud stated he would spend the Northern Hemisphere summer in Britain writing, and would continue working for the Nine Network in Australia. His performances in South Africa in 1957-58 reinforced that belief. [7], Up to this point, his first-class batting average was below 30 and his bowling average close to 40, and he had never taken more than four wickets in an innings or six in a match. As a captain, he never lost a Test series. While a heart attack was the cause of Warne's death while holidaying in Thailand, Healy revealed that he feared the spin king would succumb to another health issue. [60], Both men were noted for their hitting ability and viewed attack as their most effective chance of survival. Craig had fallen ill, and just when the senior player, Neil Harvey, was expected to succeed to the leadership, Benauds name was announced. He finished the first-class tour with 627 runs and 61 wickets at 23.54. "Meeting Ivan James was a remarkable piece of luck," he wrote later; "walking into that chemist's shop in Timaru saved my bowling career. His record reads 12 wins, 11 draws, one tie, and four losses from 28 Tests in charge of Australia. A pioneering leg-spin bowler, Benaud played in 63 Tests, 28 as captain, before retiring in 1964 to pursue a career in journalism and broadcasting. 'I would have liked to have gone [to the funeral]. The unprecedented public interest saw the Caribbean touring party farewelled with a ticker-tape parade by the Australian public. His instinctive, aggressive captaincy and daring approach to cricket and his charismatic nature and public relations ability revitalised cricket interest in Australia. More surprisingly, its patron until his death was Richie . 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. The well-groomed couple divided their time between their apartment in the Sydney beach suburb of Coogee, their house in France and five star hotels near the cricketing grounds of England as he pursued his broadcasting career. He wrote a number of books, rather serious works written with little flourish, and there were two books about him, one by AG Moyes and a later study by Mark Browning. AAP/Dean Lewins. [75] His aggressive tactical style brought large crowds throughout the season, with almost 18,000 watching one match against South Australia. [5] Lou later moved to Parramatta region in western Sydney, and played for Cumberland. He helped the Australian team have the attitude where they wanted to win. The great voice of cricket is no more. A veteran of 63 Test matches, Benaud played a pivotal role in the formation of World Series Cricket in the 1970s and was one of the worlds most recognised commentators. The parents who fear their 11-year-olds will be scarred for life by the graphic sex education lessons that Two Insulate Britain protesters are jailed for contempt of court after they defied a judge's orders not to 'Derek fights on, it makes me fall in love with him all over again:' Kate Garraway reveals there are days French authorities fear 'narco-tourists' could flock to Normandy beaches after 'more than two tonnes of Hopes for cervical cancer vaccine after trials in mice showed it reduced tumours 80 per cent of the time. [7], On arrival in the British Isles, Benaud quickly made an impression with both bat and ball. Elder son: Greg Benaud, 60, (pictured) at the public housing cottage he shares with his mother Marcia, who married Richie Benaud in 1953 and had two sons who would only see their famous father occasionally after their parents divorced, Glamorous: Marcia Benaud, in January 1953, following her marriage to Richie, after which the newlyweds went to the Adelaide Oval where the new Mrs Benaud is pictured, above, watching her husband play a Test against South Africa, Sons of the father: Richie Benaud pictured at the beach with his two sons, Jeffrey (left) and Greg (right) in the happier days of his marriage to first wife Marcia, when he was playing Test cricket for Australia, Young beauty: Marcia Lavender was a shorthand typist when she met cricketer Richie Benaud at a Sydney city accounting firm in the early 1950s and he went on to begin his Test career. Benauds crew cruised to a 4-0 victory, the skipper taking 31 wickets for an average of 18.83 runs each. While a move to preserve Benauds childhood home failed, he was honoured with a lifesize statue at the Sydney Cricket Ground, his spiritual home his actual homes having been in Sydneys Pacific-side suburb of Coogee, on the French Riviera and in London. Australian cricketer who led his country in 28 Test matches and later became one of the worlds most respected commentators. Now an 85-year-old pensioner, Marcia Benaud hadn't seen Richie Benaud since the 1970s when he was contesting the maintenance paid to support her and their sons. Three months later, Benaud married Daphne Surfleet and they embarked on a life of adventure in which Richie would cement his name in history and he and Daphne Benaud would forge an ironclad relationship that endured until his death last Friday. [47] Benaud's men won the Second Test,[48] before he took 5/83 and 4/94 in the drawn Third Test. He ended with 3/56, the first time he had taken three wickets in a match. Do not sell or share my personal information. 'I kept on seeing Dad throughout my life - occasionally,' confirmed Greg Benaud. They were booed and heckled as they left the field and Benaud's reputation as a "go ahead" cricket captain was badly tarnished. [citation needed], Benaud took over when Australian cricket was in a low phase with a young team. 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. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, [52] He took four wickets in a Second Test in Lahore that sealed the series 20,[53] the last time Australia would win a Test in Pakistan until Mark Taylor's men in 1998, 37 years later. Six further wickets in the drawn Third Test saw Benaud end the series with 84 runs at 28 and 18 wickets at 21.11. 2. [110], On 18 February 2009, during a radio interview, Benaud announced that he would be retiring from television commentary. When I was a kid we never ever wore a cap because Keith Miller never wore a cap, Benaud said at the time. [7] In the opening match of the season, he struck 158 and took 5/88 and 1/65 against Queensland. Greg joked that before his father's death he had visited him and gained some style advice for the funeral. His final commentary came near the end of the final day of the Fifth Test at the Oval. He had been receiving treatment for skin cancer since November. [74] Benaud was the leading wicket-taker of the season with 47 at 17.97. Benaud was the top wicket-taker on the tour, with 32 wickets at 19.31, and Australia's top wicket-taker in the three matches against New Zealand, with 15 wickets at 21.73. Richie Benaud death. He said of her, "She improved my love of vegetables by introducing the phrase, 'You can't go out and play cricket until you have eaten all your vegetables. What an innings. Benaud did not bowl Meckiff from the other end, and at the end of the match Meckiff announced his retirement. The next season saw the last of Benaud on the field of play, apart from some later charity matches and light-hearted private tours. Her son Greg told Daily Mail Australia that the pretty young brunette was 'one of Sydney's top three beauties', but Marcia passes that off, laughing, as 'nonsense'. National Archives of Australia, A1200, L33209. The best of his career hung principally on the exhilharating Test series of 1960-61, when he captained Australia against the visiting West Indies side led by Frank Worrell. Benaud was born in Penrith, New South Wales, in 1930. [7][11] He also put on 167 in a partnership with Alan Davidson, the first collaboration between the pair, who would later go on to lead Australia's bowling in the last five years of their career. Benaud's personal form was a major factor in this success. Cricket great Richie Benaud dies at 84 In October 2013, Benaud, then 83, was involved in a car crash and did not recover sufficiently to broadcast the Ashes series and in November 2014, he announced he was been treated for skin cancers. ''I was devastated when he left. [29][36], When Ian Craig fell ill at the start of the 195859 season, Benaud was promoted to the captaincy ahead of vice-captain Neil Harvey. [7], For the next season, England toured Australia, and with the Test players back, Benaud was initially forced out of the team. [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. Flags flew at half-mast at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Benauds home as a first-class cricketer for New South Wales, and flowers were laid at his statue at the venue. ", "Well, the answer to that", Benaud replied, "If there is, as there always can be, some emergency or a sensational happening on or off the field where it would be quite ridiculous not to go into the commentary box, of course I'll be in there doing my job and doing it as professionally as I can. In all he missed a third of the matches due to injury. [7], In the next Shield match against Victoria, led by Australian captain Lindsay Hassett, Benaud came in for attack. [18][19] In another match for New South Wales against the touring team, he took a total of 5/95. In his three Tests he averaged just three runs with the bat scoring 15 runs over five innings and took two wickets for 174 before ending the long tour in glory with 135 in a festival match at a crowded Scarborough ground, hitting 11 sixes to equal the world record at that time. Marcia was to live in the house at Beecroft until 2002, when she sold it and gave the profits to her two sons and moved into the housing cottage on the Central Coast with Greg. . RIP Richie Benaud. With his mellifluous, light delivery, enthusiastically imitated by comedians and cricket fans alike, Benaud also became the lead commentator on Australian television's Channel Nine from 1977. They are Richie Benaud's secret first family, whose lives are far removed from the glittering sporting career the cricket legend led in the media spotlight before his death in April. Benaud took 4/69 and 4/42 in the First Test in Dacca (now in Bangladesh), sealing Australia's first win in Pakistan. '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. Link to video: Richie Benaud became a household name for a whole new generation when he moved from the oval to the commentary box. Benauds first marriage, to Marcia Lavender, with whom he had two sons, Greg and Jeffery, was dissolved; he later married Daphne Surfleet, who had been secretary to the cricket writer EW Swanton. With Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller and Ernie Toshack, three of Australia's leading four bowlers from the 1948 Invincibles tour of England unavailable, Benaud bowled heavily in some matches. ", added: "So sad to hear about the passing of Richie Benaud. In his final Ashes series, in 1962-63, the tempo reverted to that of the bad old days. At one stage, New South Wales were six wickets down with less than 150 runs scored, but Benaud refused to attempt to defend for a draw. [80][81][82] Benaud returned to form with match figures of 5/142 and 57 in the Fifth Test at Sydney,[83] which ended in a draw when Benaud ordered Bill Lawry and Peter Burge to play out the last afternoon for a draw that would retain the Ashes. He defined an era with conviction and sincerity.". Although Benaud preferred to avoid controversy, he waded in when covering Australias tour of the West Indies in 1965, taking eye-opening photographs of the fast bowler Charlie Griffith and writing of his concerns over the legality of the Barbadians action. In the case of the latter, comedian Billy Birmingham's impersonations of Benaud on The Twelfth Man comedy recordings have become very successful, spanning more than twenty years. ", At the age of 83, he crushed two vertebrae when his 1963 Sunbeam vintage sports car, Test debut against West Indies at Sydney Cricket Ground, First of 248 Test wickets and 2,201 Test runs, First Test as Australia captain, v England at Brisbane, In his 60th Test, the first to 2,000 Test runs & 200 wickets, Final Test against South Africa at Sydney Cricket Ground, Final commentary in England after 42 years. [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. [100] He vacated the commentary booth when New Zealand was about to clinch a test victory at Lord's in 1999, allowing former New Zealand captain-turned-commentator Ian Smith to call the famous victory of his compatriots. [20] Benaud struck an unbeaten 100 and totalled 1/64 in the next match against Western Australia before the Australians departed for England. [7], Despite this, Benaud was chosen for his Test debut in the Fifth Test against the West Indies in 195152 in Sydney. Time and again he and fellow bowler Alan Davidson took the opposition by storm, and the Australians, led by 22-year-old Ian Craig, finished the tour unbeaten. Richie Benaud. Following his retirement from international cricket in 1964, Benaud became a highly regarded commentator on the game. Vale Richie: Greg Benaud, 60, and his younger brother, Jeffrey, were very happy to be invited by Richie's second wife Daphne to attend the private funeral in April, for which Greg quipped he would have haircut, a shave and don a suit to farewell his Dad, 'I want to respect Jeff's privacy,' he said. [44] He took 5/82 in the second innings of the Fifth Test, the fourth consecutive match in which he had taken five wickets in an innings, as Australia took a 30 series win. At the suggestion that it showed dignity, she said 'thank you.'. 1930 - 2015. Richie Benaud was a pioneering leg-spin bowler In the memorial booklet, Benaud's family described him as "a special person who means so much to each of us in many different ways". One of Benauds last public contributions was a touching voiceover tribute to Phillip Hughes, who died when struck by a bouncer in November 2014. [66] With Davidson back, Australia won the final Test by two wickets,[67] after a controversial incident in which Australian wicketkeeper Wally Grout was not given out hit wicket when a bail was dislodged and the umpires did not notice. [6][46] Benaud had little prior leadership experience, and faced the task of recovering the Ashes from an England team which had arrived in Australia as favourites. But that'll be no more television commentary". [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. How Prince Harry's chat with guru who compared Hamas terrorists to Jews who battled the Nazis has appalled JAN MOIR: Goodbye Ken, the world always seemed safer with you on the airwaves, Abstaining from masturbating RAISES risk of anxiety, depression and erectile dysfunction, study warns. He was buried on April 15 in a private funeral ceremony attended only by immediate family members. Only seven runs were required with four wickets in hand as time was running short. [84][85] The draw meant that the series was shared 11, the first time he had drawn a series after five successive wins.