Richie Benaud, Voice of Cricket, falls silent
Richie Benaud, the beloved former Australia cricketer, journalist and broadcaster, has died at the age of 84 in Sydney.
Benaud captained Australia from 1958 until his retirement in 1964, having accumulated 63 Test appearances during as 12-year career.
Benaud had been battling skin cancer, and suffered a car accident in October 2013 which left him with rib and vertebrae injuries when he drove his vintage 1963 Sunbeam Alpine car into a garden wall in Coogee.
The lasting effects of the crash forced him to miss the 2013/14 Ashes Series in Australia, his first summer out of the commentary box. A planned comeback to commentary just over a year later was then put on ice after he revealed he was undergoing treatment for melanomas on the forehead, scalp and neck. The health implications of both issues combined to keep him away from the job he loved in his final years, but he made occasional pre-recorded appearances on Channel Nine and he rallied to record a moving tribute to Phillip Hughes when the Australia batsman died last year after being struck by a bouncer.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has offered the family of Benaud a state funeral, and described his death as "tragic".
“There would be very few Australians who have not passed a summer in the company of Richie Benaud,” Abbott told a press conference in Brisbane. “He was the accompaniment of an Australian summer, his voice was even more present than the chirping of the cicadas in our suburbs and towns, and that voice, tragically, is now still.”
Benaud will be remembered by millions for his measured, laconic brand of commentary and he was as revered in England, where he worked on television from 1963 to 2005, as he was in his homeland.
But he made his name in the game as a brilliant tactician and leg-spinning all-rounder. He made 63 Test appearances in the Baggy Green of Australia, taking 248 wickets and scoring 2,201 runs in Tests.
He was the first Australian to reach the 200 wicket, 2000 run double and was also the country's leading wicket-taker for close to 20 years before Dennis Lillee took the mantle. Benaud is survived by wife Daphne and two sons from a previous marriage.
Benaud collected many honours during his lengthy career on both sides of the boundary rope, including a place in the Australian Cricket and ICC Halls of Fame, a Wisden Cricketer of the Year award and an OBE from the Queen. But most of all he earned the warmth and respect of the cricketing public, prompting endless imitations of his unique style - all of them affectionate.
He began his media life while still a player, training with the BBC while on tour in England in 1956. He worked avidly as a newspaper man, for many years with the News of the World, and later showed an instinctive knack for television work.
He commentated on the 1977 World Series Cricket, having been headhunted by Kerry Packer and continued setting a high bar for generations to follow. — The Independent
Warnie’s poignant letter to ‘absolute gentleman’
Australian spin bowling great Shane Warne penned an emotional letter to Benaud on his Instagram account as tributes flooded in for the late commentator. In a heartfelt letter to his late fellow legspinner, Warne stated, 'Dear Richie, I've known you and Daphne for close to 30 years and to everyone you were a legend on all levels and rightly so too'. He wrote this alongside a close-up portrait of Benaud. Warne stated that as a cricketer, commentator and as a person, Benaud was the best there's ever been and to top it off, an absolute gentleman. He claimed that it was an honour and a privilege to call Benaud a close friend and mentor. Warne recalled that they had so many wonderful times together, talking cricket and in particular, their love and passion of leg spin bowling. He stated that he would cherish their entertaining dinners and all the fun times that they shared over a long period of time. Benaud, widely known as the greatest attacking spin bowler of his Test cricket era, eventually paved the way for Warne's prowess with the ball. Warne also stated that Benaud was loved by everyone, not just the cricket family, adding that he was the godfather of cricket and would be missed by all.
