Here is all you want to know, and more! Coupled with his subtle variations in flight and angle of the delivery, he kept the batsman under constant pressure. He was playing first class cricket in the Sheffield Shield series before being selected for his first test, against the West Indies in Sydney in 1952. Benaud's personal form was a major factor in this success. At the suggestion that it showed dignity, she said 'thank you.'. Asked whether that was sad for her, Marcia said: 'I've accepted it'. Our nation has lost an icon, he said at a media conference. Richie Benaud's Death - Cause and Date - The Celebrity Deaths Richie Benaud, 1959. Inside Matt Hancock's 41-hour battle to save his career when photo of 'a snog and heavy petting' with aide Will Vladimir Putin's empress pay the ultimate price for his war on the West? BBC Radio 5 live pays tribute to Richie Benaud. [93] Benaud was regarded as one of the finest close-fielders of his era, either at gully or in a silly position. In the previous seasons when he and his team were at their peak, he had scored 636 runs at 31.8 with taken 108 wickets at 20.27 in eighteen Tests, averaging six wickets a match. Marcia had thought Richie's hanging up of the bat would bring him home. 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. She remained in the Beecroft house as the boys grew up, seeing their father 'now and again for birthdays'. [4] Educated at Parramatta High School, Benaud made his first grade debut for Cumberland at age 16, primarily as a batsman. 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'. Such guarded humour as he evinced bore the touch of a man who was keen to be seen above all else as discerning. [29][36] The first two seasons of the Benaud captaincy had been a resounding success, with Australia winning eight, drawing four and losing only one Test. [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. When it became clear that the cricketing legend was finally about to succumb to skin cancer, Daphne contacted Jeff and Greg Benaud. 'It's 39 years since I spoke to or saw him, except on TV,' she said. [7], On arrival in the British Isles, Benaud quickly made an impression with both bat and ball. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. Six further wickets in the drawn Third Test saw Benaud end the series with 84 runs at 28 and 18 wickets at 21.11. [29], Benaud's bowling reached a new level on the return leg of Australia's overseas tour, when they stopped in the Indian subcontinent in 195657 en route back to Australia. [7], The 195152 season saw a tour to Australia by the West Indies. Reaction to the death of former Australian cricket captain and commentator Richie Benaud, known as the 'Voice of Cricket'. [20] Benaud struck an unbeaten 100 and totalled 1/64 in the next match against Western Australia before the Australians departed for England. [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. Lived: 30867 days = 84 years. But I will be doing all sorts of, what I regard as, interesting things for Channel Nine on the cricketspecial features on the cricket". Richie Benaud, who has died aged 84, was perhaps best known latterly for his work as a global cricket commentator, with his distinctive voice, familiar fixed gaze, prominent bottom lip and. 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 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'. 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. Benaud died peacefully in his sleep in a hospice, the Sydney Morning. On the way home Benaud finally fulfilled his potential by taking 7 for 72 (this remained his best Test return) at Madras to set up an Australian innings victory over India, the short series being sealed at Calcutta in the third Test when Benaud took 11 wickets for 105. Benaud, whose witty one-liners from the commentary box resonated far beyond. [31], The 196162 Australian season was purely a domestic one, with no touring international team. However, he did not have much success in his five games, taking only five wickets at 54.00. [27] In the Fifth Test at Kingston, he struck a century in 78 minutes, despite taking 15 minutes to score his first run. [97], In 2004, Benaud starred in a series of television advertisements for the Australian Tourism Commission, aimed at promoting Australia as a tourist destination. [128] After rain interrupted the 2016 SCG Test against West Indies, the second day unofficially became Richie Benaud Day as 501 Benaud impersonators stayed at the SCG, which is a day before the annual Jane McGrath Day for Breast Cancer awareness and fundraising, which was again rained out.[129]. [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. Tony Abbott offers family a state funeral for the former Australian leg-spinner, cricket captain and commentator. 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). Benauds crew cruised to a 4-0 victory, the skipper taking 31 wickets for an average of 18.83 runs each. I was devastated when he left.'. [7] Hassett was known for his prowess against spin bowling, being the only batsman to score centuries in a match against the leg-spin of Bill O'Reilly, regarded as the finest bowler of his age. "[39], After a break in the international calendar of a year, the 195758 tour to South Africa heralded the start of a phase of three international seasons when Benaud was at his peak. [4] Benaud took 5/72 and scored 43 in the First Test,[86] but then injured himself in a grade match, so Bob Simpson captained the team for the Second Test and won the match in Benaud's absence. 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. Greg joked that before his father's death he had visited him and gained some style advice for the funeral. 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. [7] He was selected for an Australian XI match against England, in what was effectively a trial for Test selection, but suffered a chipped bone in his thumb. At the time, Ms Benaud said she was upset she hadn't been invited to her former husband's funeral. 'But it suited [Richie] to keep it quiet, and so that's how it was kept.'. Swanton. [6] In eight first-class matches after his Test campaign was over, Benaud added a further half-century in addition to the century against Pearce's XI, and took 22 more wickets, including 4/20 against the Gentlemen of England. Richard Benaud OBE ( / bno /; 6 October 1930 - 10 April 2015) was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and the Australia national cricket team. Along with the West Indian captain Frank Worrell, Benaud's bold leadership enlivened interest in Test cricket among a public who had increasingly regarded it as boring. [75] His aggressive tactical style brought large crowds throughout the season, with almost 18,000 watching one match against South Australia. 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'. Listen to impressionist Rory Bremner paying tribute to Richie Benaud. [126], In 2007, he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame at the Allan Border Medal award evening and in 2009 he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Category:Richie Benaud - Wikimedia Commons Richie Benaud - ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) [15] Hassett allowed him to bowl only in the second innings, when nine West Indian wickets had fallen and Australia were on the verge of an inevitable victory. His selection was frequently questioned in those early years, when much other flowering talent was evident in domestic cricket. 'It was a 6pm wedding. She kept me informed so that I knew when Dad was sick. [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. 'I would have liked to have gone [to the funeral]. The next season saw the last of Benaud on the field of play, apart from some later charity matches and light-hearted private tours.