It was not the first time he had been hospitalised by a blow to the head. [29], At the start of the 196364 season, Benaud announced that it would be his last at first-class level. He was attacked by the touring batsmen, taking 1/75 from 16.5 overs in his first outing against an international outfit. [72] Benaud then took four wickets in the drawn Fifth Test to end the series 21. 'I watched all the broadcasts. The first Test of the season, against the touring South Africans, saw high drama as Australia's left arm paceman Ian Meckiff was called for throwing by Colin Egar and removed from the attack by Benaud after one over. [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. 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. His last goodbye was interrupted by Glenn McGrath taking Kevin Pietersen's wicket; Benaud simply wove his description of the dismissal into what he was already saying. [7], The 195152 season saw a tour to Australia by the West Indies. Selected as a batsman who could bowl, he had totalled 309 runs at 15.45 without passing 50, and taken 23 wickets at 37.87 with only two four-wicket innings hauls. In 1963 he became the first player to complete the Test double of 200 wickets and 2,000 runs. 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. [62] He took 4/107 in a seven-wicket victory in Melbourne,[63] before the West Indies levelled the series with a 22-run win in Sydney. [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. 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). RIP Richie Benaud. 'We have been comfortable and had a contented life here,' she said. Biography - A Short Wiki But he chose to study architecture over cricket, although not finishing his degree, Marcia Benaud (pictured in the garden of her Central Coast home) said following the end of her marriage to Richie Benaud, the cricketing great preferred to keep his past quiet and contact with their famous Dad became less frequent as they got older, Richie and Marcia Benaud pictured with their two sons, Jeffrey (left) and Greg (centre) in the early 1960s during the early days of his Test career at a time when cricketers earned little reward and Benaud had do advertisements to pay for keeping a family. 'The voice of cricket' Richie Benaud dies, aged 84 [101] Some of his other memorable moments he commentated on included Shane Warne's "Ball of the Century",[102] Ian Botham's dominant all-round display during the 1981 Ashes,[97] Dennis Lillee overtaking Benaud's record for most wickets, and subsequent 300th and 310th wickets, and Andrew Symonds' tackle on a streaker. More surprisingly, its patron until his death was Richie . [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. [58] A further seven wickets from the captain in the Fifth Test saw Australia secure a draw and the series 21. There were good times when he was home at the family house in Beecroft, in Sydney's north. Benaud returned and scored 37 and took a total of 2/68 in the final match, ending the season with 184 runs at 36.80 and 11 wickets at 34.63. 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 carefully tended coiffure. [4] The First Test at Edgbaston was drawn with Benaud taking three wickets. Benaud had an ineffective match with the ball, taking 1/162. She kept me informed so that I knew when Dad was sick. 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. Australian cricketer who led his country in 28 Test matches and later became one of the worlds most respected commentators. Richard (Richie) Benaud, cricketer and commentator, died on April 10th, aged 84. 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, ace all-rounder, captain, journalist, and doyen of commentators, passed away on April 4, 2015. Benaud led his country. One of Benauds last public contributions was a touching voiceover tribute to Phillip Hughes, who died when struck by a bouncer in November 2014. [61], The Test was tied when Solomon ran out Ian Meckiff with a direct hit. [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. Tributes have been pouring in from around the world following the news of Benaud's death. In the next four matches, Benaud passed 15 only once, scoring a 34, and took only seven wickets. 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. He had brought novel flashes of exhibitionism into play on the cricket field, racing over to embrace a fieldsman after a catch, his own shirt unbuttoned almost to the navel. Will always be remembered and admired. It was screened before Australias Test series against India last December. [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. 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. Slow recovery meant he was unable to commentate for Australia's Channel Nine during the 201314 Ashes series. Reaction to the death of the 'Voice of Cricket' Benaud | Reuters But that extraordinary five-match encounter produced electrifying batsmanship, and bowling that was less concerned with shutting the game down than keeping it moving. He finished the first-class tour with 627 runs and 61 wickets at 23.54. Oscar Cainer tells all. It was something he shouldn't have done. Richie Benaud's Death - Cause and Date - The Celebrity Deaths [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 told me I should cut my hair for the funeral, but not to take toomuch off,' Greg told Daily Mail Australia. [97], After retiring from playing in 1964, Benaud turned to full-time cricket journalism and commentary, dividing his time between Britain (where he worked for the BBC for many years before joining Channel 4 in 1999), and Australia (for the Nine Network). Daphne Benaud invited sons Greg and Jeffrey to the private service, which was attended by about 20 people, before a more public wake at the Australian Golf Club. [68] After Harvey led the team to victory at Lord's,[69] Benaud had an unhappy return in the Third at Headingley scoring two runs in two innings and taking match figures of 2/108 as Australia lost within three days. After Don Bradman, there has been no Australian player more famous or more influential than Richie Benaud.. 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 great voice of cricket is no more. Despite this impairment to his bowling shoulder, his team played with an aggressive strategy leading them to lose only one Test match and no other matches during the tour, honouring his pre-series pledge. [84][85] The draw meant that the series was shared 11, the first time he had drawn a series after five successive wins. 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. 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. He was known for his unbuttoned shirt, and raised eyebrows with his on-field exuberance. 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. [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". Harsha Bhogle remembers Richie Benaud on 5th death anniversary with sad RIP Richie Benaud. England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke said cricket had "lost perhaps its greatest advocate and someone who was a true giant of the modern game". Richie Benaud - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Recruited by Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer in the 1970s, Benaud would become a driving force behind World Series Cricket, his voice lending respectability to the breakaway professional circuit that would ultimately change the game. Richie Benaud, Australian Cricket Legend, Dies at Age 84 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. [8] Selected as a batsman, he scored 3 and 19. Benaud also used to live in Coraki, NSW. Six further wickets in the drawn Third Test saw Benaud end the series with 84 runs at 28 and 18 wickets at 21.11. from around the world following the news of Benaud's death. [11] He scored 20 not out and was not called on to bowl in the second innings. [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. Jeffrey Benaud is not involved in the court action Marcia and Greg Benaud have taken against Daphne Benaud in the Supreme Court. Richie Benaud became a household name for a whole new generation when he moved from the oval to the commentary box. 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. 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. At the age of 83, he crushed two vertebrae when his 1963 Sunbeam vintage sports car hit a brick wall near his home in Coogee, Sydney. What an innings. The decisive victory came in the fourth Test, at Old Trafford, when Benauds 6 for 70 and an unlikely Australian 54-run victory shamed England, who fell from 150 for one to 201 all out. or debate this issue live on our message boards. '"[116], In October 2013, Benaud crashed his vintage 1965 Sunbeam Alpine into a wall while driving near his home in Coogee, a beachside suburb in Sydney's east. [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. [4], Benaud was not a large spinner of the ball, but he was known for his ability to extract substantial bounce from the surface. Benaud often spoke of a return to commentary but, to the great sadness of his legions of admirers, it did not materialise. R ichie Benaud, Australia's legendary cricket captain and commentator, died in Sydney on Friday, his family said. 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. [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. 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'. [29][36], Benaud took part in Australia's tour of New Zealand from February to March 1957. 'Dad had two families to look after and back in the day when Mum was awarded custody, it was the law brought down in the Supreme Court rather than the family court that we lived with Mum and saw Dad once a fortnight,' Greg said. [10] He had more success with the bat, scoring 93 and narrowly missing a century against South Australia. Within hours of his death, Tony Abbott, the Australian prime minister, offered Benauds family a state funeral. Benaud, whose witty one-liners from the commentary box resonated far beyond. 'It's very different to what it is like now. [113][123], Benaud was buried on 15 April, in a private funeral ceremony attended only by his immediate family. [70][71] With the series balanced at 11, the Fourth Test at Old Trafford initially brought no improvement, with Benaud scoring 2 and taking 0/80 in the first innings. This was enough for him to gain selection for the start of the Tests. Richie Benaud's first wife reveals her troubled relationship with him He was recalled for a match against the Englishmen. Richie Benaud, former Australia cricket captain, dies at 84 He had managed, in the 14 Tests since then, 559 runs at 27.95 and 67 wickets at 24.98. Richie Benaud (1930-2015) *84, Grave #86215750 - Sysoon Having helped Australia win the 1955 series in the West Indies (Benauds century in Jamaica, one of five in an innings of 758 for 8 still Australias highest total in Tests came in a mere 78 minutes), after four years and 27 Test matches it was felt at last that he truly belonged in the side. It was developed by the software company Turtlez Ltd. Having downloaded this, cricket fans would be treated to live Test match updates and weather reports from a cartoon version of Benaud with real voice samples such as "Got 'im!" But he was a survivor, even if his friendship with Bradman never quite recovered from that cricket civil war.
