The tour included seven first-class matches, three of which were unofficial Tests. Abbott described him as the voice of 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. 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. Richie Benaud: 'Voice of cricket' dies at 84 | CNN Marcia Benaud spoke of her past with Richie with laughter and tears, but said although she believed he should have never left their marriage she has made a life of contentment, politely responding that she was 'the first wife' if people asked about her name, Richie Benaud, pictured shaking the hand of Queen Elizabeth II, before the start of play during his Test cricket years, which his first wife Marcia said led to some delightful occasions, including her invitation to dine with the Queen on the Britannia when in Sydney. [109] Chris Barrie of Red Dwarf fame incorporated impressions of Benaud into his stand-up repertoire. [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. He took up a journalism position with the News of the World,[98] beginning as a police roundsman before becoming a sports columnist. "[94], After the 1956 England tour, Benaud stayed behind in London to take a BBC presenter training course. 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. But he had been a distinguished performer for Australia on the cricket field himself, playing for his country for 12 years until 1964. This memorial website was created in memory of Richie Benaud, 84, born on October 6, 1930 and passed away on April 10, 2015. Richie Benaud had a thing for cars, starting off with a Morris Minor, graduating to Renaults when, as a lowly paid cricketer of the era, he took to advertising shaving cream, and the French cars with the jingle 'Renault for Benaud'. 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? We will remember him forever. [58] A further seven wickets from the captain in the Fifth Test saw Australia secure a draw and the series 21. Benaud, whose witty one-liners from the commentary box resonated far beyond. Within hours of his death, Tony Abbott, the Australian prime minister, offered Benauds family a state funeral. [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. Soon after television came to Australia he appeared in a commercial, tending his garden with a Victa lawnmower. EXCLUSIVE: Head teacher of leading grammar school is sacked for sending parents a list of striking teachers. He was recalled for a match against the Englishmen. This was enough for him to gain selection for the start of the Tests. Benaud, born in Penrith, New South Wales, enjoyed a successful career as a wily leg-spin bowler and middle-order batsman. 'It was very, very difficult.'. [47] Benaud's men won the Second Test,[48] before he took 5/83 and 4/94 in the drawn Third Test. Oscar Cainer tells all. [29][36], It was the first of his successes against India, against whom he took his wickets at an average of 18. Our nation has lost an icon, he said at a media conference. Marcia Benaud described the times when Richie was overseas as lonely and trying. [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. ", Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkaraexternal-link added: "So sad to hear about the passing of Richie Benaud. Early in his career, he hit 100 runs against the West Indies in 78 minutes, the third fastest Test century of all time (in terms of minutes at the crease, not balls faced) and the second fastest by an Australian. 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. 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. Richie Benaud, Australian Cricket Legend, Dies at Age 84 Richie Benaud. 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. Benaud said: "I won't be doing live commentary any more." SUBSCRIBE TO US At the suggestion that it showed dignity, she said 'thank you.'. However, cricketers like Shane Warne, Ian Chappell, Michael Clarke among several others visited his commemoration service on the same day. 2. 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. Harsha Bhogle remembers Richie Benaud on 5th death anniversary with sad [7], In the next match against South Australia, he made 48, took 4/93 and 1/29 and suffered three dropped catches by the wicketkeeper in successive balls. [84][85] The draw meant that the series was shared 11, the first time he had drawn a series after five successive wins. It was presented to his wife. [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. Only seven runs were required with four wickets in hand as time was running short. [38] Early in the tour, when the team visited Timaru to pay a minor match, Benaud went to a pharmacy to see if he could get something to soothe his spinning-fingers, which had been torn by his spinning action for many years. What an innings. Fans remember Richie Benaud for his famed pronunciation of '2/2/22 [118], In November 2014, at age 84, Benaud announced that he had been diagnosed with skin cancer. The matter will return to court on December 4. [91] In 196768 he captained a Commonwealth team against Pakistan, playing in his last five first-class fixtures. The great voice of cricket is no more. Richie Benaud dead: Australia mourns loss of cricketing great First wife: The former Marcia Lavender (pictured) married Richie Benaud in 1953, had two boys and divorced in 1967 and at the time of the cricketing legend's death in April had not seen him - except on TV - for 39 years. John, who played in three Tests, was 13 years younger. 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 also used to live in Coraki, NSW. 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? [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. 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'. 'Daphne has been kind and fair over the years to me and has welcomed me, even when it was undeserved on my part,' Greg said. Menu! [4], Benaud was not a large spinner of the ball, but he was known for his ability to extract substantial bounce from the surface. Richie (Richard) Benaud, cricketer, journalist and broadcaster, born 6 October 1930; died 10 April 2015, When Richie Benaud made a teenage cricket fans day | Letters, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Richie Benaud, at the Montcalm Hotel, London in 2005, Richie Benaud remembered in private ceremony for friends and family, Richie Benaud, former Australia cricket captain, dies at 84, Richie Benaud dies aged 84 rolling reaction, Richie Benaud: archive match reports of his playing career, Richie Benaud: a personal reflection on a colossus of cricket, Cricket legend Richie Benaud his life in pictures, Richard Cooke pays tribute to crickets permanent witness, Rolling blog: how the world reacted to Benauds death, Gallery: Richie Benaud his life in pictures, From the archive The Joy of Six: Richie Benaud. Cricket, commentary and the dollar: Benaud's legacy is complex [112], "This is the greatest loss for cricket since the loss of Don Bradman and for that reason I'm pleased to have offered the Benaud family a state funeral. [7] He was recalled immediately for the Fourth Test, but was dropped for the Fifth after managing seven runs in his only innings and going wicketless. Read about our approach to external linking. [125] In 1999, he was awarded a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Sports Broadcaster. Marcia Benaud's eyes misted up when she spoke about watching the tributes which flowed on TV following her late ex-husband's death in April, saying the coverage brought back sad memories of the life they had together, Muzzled: Richie Benaud, pictured in 1953, with his fiancee Marcia Lavender prior to their wedding and following an injury while he was fielding and a ball hit him in the face, causing his lip to split, but Marcia says he managed to utter a firm 'I do', Marcia Benaud (pictured with son Greg) remembered the day her then husband Richie rang up to say Sir Donald Bradman was coming over for dinner and after an initial panic over what to serve, she came up with chicken soup followed by roast chicken with salad for the legend in her Beecroft living room, Richie Benaud in his Test playing days, pictured in 1961, when he was still married to Marcia and they were bringing up two young sons, Greg, then aged six and Jeffrey, aged four, 'There was another time when the prime minister Robert Menzies invited us to have dinner with the Queen on the Britannia when it was docked in Sydney. 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. After 28 X-rays showed nothing, it was finally diagnosed that the crater in his forehead had resulted in a skull fracture and he was sidelined for the remainder of the season,[6] since a second impact could have been fatal. 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. [7] Benaud scored his maiden first-class century, 117 against South Australia, in the next match, two years after falling short of the milestone by seven runs. [7], The 195152 season saw a tour to Australia by the West Indies. Birth date: 6 October, 1930, Monday. But Richie asked the pretty young woman out, and when he moved on to a job as a clerk at The Sun newspaper their relationship grew. Richie Benaud Biography Richie Benaud Networth 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. In 1961 he was made an OBE for services to cricket. Richie Benaud's widow, ex-wife and son settle estate dispute He also made 113 against the touring side for the Prime Minister's XI. [113][123], Benaud was buried on 15 April, in a private funeral ceremony attended only by his immediate family. 'It was a 6pm wedding. Shane Warne, Australia's record wicket-taker, made a particularly heartfelt contribution.external-link, "Dear Richie, you were a legend on all levels and rightly so too," said Warne. Following his retirement from international cricket in 1964, Benaud became a highly regarded commentator on the game. from around the world following the news of Benaud's death. 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. UPDATE 1-Cricket-Reaction to the death of the 'Voice of Cricket' Benaud [7], After returning home from his first overseas tour, Benaud was prolific during the 195354 Australian season, which was purely domestic with no touring Test team. Death date: 10 April, 2015, Friday. Marcia Benaud kept her surname 'for the sake of my sons. Against Len Huttons dominant England tourists in 1954-55 he again did little with bat or ball, just as he struggled in 1956 on his second tour of England, the Lords Test apart: having taken a memorably sharp reflex catch in the gully to dismiss Colin Cowdrey, Benaud was at his cavalier best in an innings of 97, ended by a top edge as he tried to reach his hundred in the grand manner by hooking Fred Trueman. At Adelaide, a nation was brought to a standstill during a long, pulsating last-wicket stand between Ken Mackay and the near-hopeless No 11 Lindsay Kline as they secured an unlikely draw for Australia. 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. His father Louis, a third-generation Australian of French Huguenot descent,[4] was a leg spinner who played for Penrith District Cricket Club in Sydney Grade Cricket, gaining attention for taking all twenty wickets in a match against St. Marys for 65. [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. 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. Discover the real story, facts, and details of Richie Benaud. It was something he shouldn't have done. Richie Benaud (1930-2015) *84, Grave #86215750 - Sysoon He was the accompaniment of an Australian summer. He married Marcia in 1953 and had two children with her, Gregory and. [8] Selected as a batsman, he scored 3 and 19. Richie Benaud Cause of Death, How did Richie Benaud Die? 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. The great voice of cricket is no more. [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. [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. 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. Benaud did not bowl Meckiff from the other end, and at the end of the match Meckiff announced his retirement. [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. 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. AAP/Dean Lewins. In addition to his accurate probing consistency, he possessed a well-disguised googly and topspinner which tricked many batsmen and yielded him many wickets. Witch, Harridan, Harpy, and new insults like Karen and Terf. It could have killed him if it had struck him where his skull was previously fractured. He appeared in Richie Benaud's Greatest XI, a video in which he chooses his own team. [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. I know Mum found it difficult to live on ten pounds a week. 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. Craig had fallen ill, and just when the senior player, Neil Harvey, was expected to succeed to the leadership, Benauds name was announced. [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. Shortly after the the Australian cricket captain and celebrated commentator's death in April from cancer, Ms Benaud spoke to Daily Mail Australia from her housing flat on the NSW Central Coast, north of Sydney. [29][36], Benaud took part in Australia's tour of New Zealand from February to March 1957. [55] Benaud had less of an impact on the next two Tests, which Australia lost and drew, totaling 6/244. After Don Bradman, there has been no Australian player more famous or more influential than Richie Benaud.. 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. 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. Greg joked that before his father's death he had visited him and gained some style advice for the funeral. [124], Benaud was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1961 for services to cricket. A veteran of 63 Test matches,. The next season saw the last of Benaud on the field of play, apart from some later charity matches and light-hearted private tours. [6] Benaud's bold leadership coupled with his charismatic nature and public relations ability enlivened interest in Test cricket among a public who had increasingly regarded it as boring. However, cricketers like Shane Warne, Ian Chappell, Michael Clarke among several others visited his commemoration service on the same day. [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. [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. Benaud embraced his players when opposition wickets fell, something that was uncommon at the time. 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. [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. 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. Category:Richie Benaud - Wikimedia Commons Richie Benaud - ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) [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. Benaud, who was born in Penrith, just west of Sydney, into a family of Huguenot origin, had a keen cricketer for a father. 'The voice of cricket' Richie Benaud dies, aged 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. [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. Around 150,000 deaths are registered in Australia every year, but few receive the "end of an era" tribute accorded Richie Benaud. [7] Benaud was the only bowler selected for all five Tests of the 195455 series when England visited Australia. In a one-off Test against Pakistan in Karachi, he scored 56 and took 1/36 as Australia fell to defeat. Richie Benaud cricketer (1930-2015) .