They were different times and it was the right thing to do for them.'. Benaud was born in Penrith, New South Wales, in 1930. RIP Richie Benaud. 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. [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. As a batsman, he was tall and lithe, known for his hitting power, in particular his lofted driving ability from the front foot. And despite the years since she saw the only man she ever married, Marcia Lorraine Lavender Benaud said she had watched the television tributes to her late former husband with mixed feelings. 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. [6], In November 1948, at the age of 18, Benaud was selected for the New South Wales Colts, the state youth team. He made 1 in the second before a last-wicket partnership between Davidson and Graham McKenzie of 98 yielded a defendable target. 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'. 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. 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". Birth date: 6 October, 1930, Monday. [92], During Benaud's captaincy, Australia did not lose a series, and became the dominant team in world cricket. Craig had fallen ill, and just when the senior player, Neil Harvey, was expected to succeed to the leadership, Benauds name was announced. He made 140, in a seventh-wicket partnership of 255 in just 176 minutes, an Australian record that still stands. "He was an integral part of the BBC team for decades and will be sorely missed by everyone who had the pleasure of working with him.". SURPRISINGLY, there is a French Cricket Association. He finished the innings with 6/70. Oscar Cainer tells all. [6] At the start of the 194950 season, he was still in the Second XI, but when the Test players departed for a tour of South Africa soon afterwards,[7] vacancies opened up. Marcia Benaud said she had not seen her former husband Richie (pictured in the West Indies in 1991) for 39 years 'except on TV', 'I enjoyed cricket, even though Richie said I didn't like it. 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!" The great voice of cricket is no more. [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. Six further wickets in the drawn Third Test saw Benaud end the series with 84 runs at 28 and 18 wickets at 21.11. [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. In 1958 he became Australia's Test captain until his retirement in 1964. Benaud also used to live in Coraki, NSW. He was 84. The pharmacist, Ivan James, suggested a treatment with calamine lotion and boracic acid. Marcia gave birth to their first son Greg in 1955, and Jeffery in 1958. 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. This put him out of action until the last match of the season,[13] leaving him with little opportunity to impress the national selectors for his rise to international cricket. [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. SUBSCRIBE TO US Will always be remembered and admired. 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. [118], In November 2014, at age 84, Benaud announced that he had been diagnosed with skin cancer. [55] Benaud had less of an impact on the next two Tests, which Australia lost and drew, totaling 6/244. and "That's stumps and time for a glass of something chilled". [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). His performances in South Africa in 1957-58 reinforced that belief. [77], 196263 saw an English team under Dexter visit Australia. Lou Benaud, who had once taken all 20 wickets in a bush match, keenly and wisely guided his two sons. Some tedious contests had been inflicted on the watching public, with more to follow in the 1960s. The great voice of cricket is no more. Swanton. 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'. He showed the prowess of his captaincy during a 1960-61 Test series against West Indies, that had seemed to have bagged the first Test as Australia struggled at 92/6 when chasing a target of 233. 'But I wasn't invited Rich asked that I not attend. Benaud was cementing his position and was in the senior team for four consecutive matches even with the Test players available. 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. Tony Abbott offers family a state funeral for the former Australian leg-spinner, cricket captain and commentator. 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. Within the year he had spun his way to a further 47 wickets in eight Tests in Pakistan and India, and all was set for what was perceived as a world championship contest against the visiting West Indies team. Benaud, who was born in Penrith, just west of Sydney, into a family of Huguenot origin, had a keen cricketer for a father. A strong England party, led by Peter May, were widely expected to retain the Ashes. [35] He took 6/52 and 5/53, his best-ever match analysis, ending the series with 113 runs at 18.83 and 24 wickets at 17.66. [7] [45] He had been a major contributor to the series win, scoring 329 runs at 54.83 and taking 30 wickets at 21.93, establishing himself as one of the leading leg spinners of the modern era. 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. [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. She and Richie Benaud had a second son Jeffrey in 1958, 'Dad said his cricketing commitments and distances for touring teams put strains on marriages.'. Explore Richie Benaud's biography, personal life, family and cause of death. Richie commentated regularly during the 201112 season and was part of Nine's commentating team/roster. [11] He scored 20 not out and was not called on to bowl in the second innings. Abbott described him as the voice of cricket. [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. "[94], After the 1956 England tour, Benaud stayed behind in London to take a BBC presenter training course. ", Benaud married Marcia Lavender in 1953 and had two sons, Greg and Jeffery, from this marriage; he divorced Marcia in 1967. It was screened before Australias Test series against India last December. 'We have been comfortable and had a contented life here,' she said. The couple honeymooned in Jervis Bay where, Marcia remembered with amusement, they were given a room in the naval barracks with two single beds. Benaud led his country. 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. [9] This was the only match he played for the second-string state team that summer. He secured his place after scoring 125 against Queensland at the start of the season,[23] although his lead-up form in two matches against England for his state and an Australian XI was not encouraging. 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. He took up a journalism position with the News of the World,[98] beginning as a police roundsman before becoming a sports columnist. [7] In the opening match of the season, he struck 158 and took 5/88 and 1/65 against Queensland. [7] However, this was not enough to ensure his selection in the First Test, where he was made 12th man. Last updated on 10 April 201510 April 2015.From the section Cricket. South Africa. from around the world following the news of Benaud's death. As the great cricketing icon toured the world with Daphne, dividing their timebetween their beachside Sydney apartment, their house in France and luxury hotels in England, Marcia claims that on more than one occasion she had to challenge Richie in court about payments for their two sons. The next season saw the last of Benaud on the field of play, apart from some later charity matches and light-hearted private tours. We will remember him forever. When live Test cricket disappeared from the BBC in 1999 he moved to Channel 4, and when terrestrial broadcasting ended in 2005 he refused to switch to pay TV. [8], Relegated to the Second XI after this match, he was struck in the head above the right eye by a ball from Jack Daniel while batting against Victoria in Melbourne, having missed an attempted hook. [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. Benaud had been battling skin cancer and recovering from the after effects of a car accident suffered . When, a few months later in England, Benaud took veteran Ray Lindwalls advice and bowled his leg-spin around the wicket into the rough, when all seemed lost in the Old Trafford Test, his wicket-taking that afternoon ensured that Australia retained the Ashes and raised the captain close to sainthood in the estimation of his team and his country. [79] This was followed by three unproductive Tests which yielded only 5/360 and a win apiece. When it became clear that the cricketing legend was finally about to succumb to skin cancer, Daphne contacted Jeff and Greg Benaud. Such guarded humour as he evinced bore the touch of a man who was keen to be seen above all else as discerning. 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'. Australia won the series 21, and although Benaud was below his best, scoring at 21.77 and taking 23 wickets at 33.87,[29][36] the series was a success for cricket. [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. A pioneering leg-spin bowler, Benaud played in 63 Tests, 28 as captain, before retiring in. 254/-. Marcia Benaud, who always refers to her only husband as 'Rich' rather than 'Richie', spoke about the fantastic life she had with Benaud, the young Test cricketing star she had been married to in the 1950s and 60s, and their two sons she had sometimes struggled to raise in the years since. CNN Former Australia cricket captain and legendary broadcaster Richie Benaud has died at the age of 84. Marcia Benaud kept her surname 'for the sake of my sons. [36], Benaud was awarded life membership by the New South Wales Cricket Association, but he returned it in protest in 1970 when his younger brother John was removed from the captaincy. [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. I've had enough of life': Grandmother, 86, is reduced to tears after killjoy Tory RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: As Florida governor and Donald Trump rival Ron DeSantis steps up his bid to win the Hairy Bikers star Dave Myers speaks out on his deep depression after chemotherapy which left him having 'How I snatched JK Rowling's baby out of her abusive husband's arms - and helped her flee with the Harry Top equestrian rider, 39, once known as the 'golden girl' of horse eventing, is facing jail after being A possum feared extinct is discovered by an amateur naturalist in Papua New Guinea being cooked on a Now California reparations panel RAISES amount it wants to give 1.8m black people from $220,000 to $360,000 My weekly horoscope: What will March 4th 2023 bring for MY star sign? 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. But he was a survivor, even if his friendship with Bradman never quite recovered from that cricket civil war. It was presented to his wife. ', Home territory: Richie Benaud was the king of the commentary box and at complete ease on cricket grounds around the world including the SCG (above), but as he forged his international commentary career he saw less of his two sons by first wife Marcia, Marcia Benaud said: 'I was at the stage where I preferred to be happy with a little, than rich and unhappy and so I accepted it and I haven't seen him since that day in court.'. Nor have they sought the limelight occupied by their father. [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. Former Australia captain and legendary cricket commentator Richie Benaud has died at the age of 84. RIP Richie Benaud." The 63 Test matches veteran was the first player to score 2,000 Test runs and take 200 Test wickets. [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. EXCLUSIVE: Head teacher of leading grammar school is sacked for sending parents a list of striking teachers. Reaction to the death of former Australian cricket captain and commentator Richie Benaud, known 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. 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. Benaud led New South Wales throughout a dominant season, winning the Sheffield Shield with 64 of the 80 possible points. He was recalled for a match against the Englishmen. ", added: "So sad to hear about the passing of Richie Benaud. R ichie Benaud, Australia's legendary cricket captain and commentator, died in Sydney on Friday, his family said. [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. 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. Later that same day, there was a commemoration service officiated by former teammate turned lay preacher Brian Booth; attendees included his family and close friendsamong them former players, including Ian Chappell and Shane Warne, and Australian Test captain Michael Clarke. 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. [51] Benaud contributed 132 runs at 26.4 and 31 wickets at the low average of 18.83,[29][36] as well as his shrewd and innovative captaincy. [4] According to Neil Harvey, he also was the first captain who started hosting team meetings, a procedure now followed by his successors after he retired. [27] In the Fifth Test at Kingston, he struck a century in 78 minutes, despite taking 15 minutes to score his first run. [7], He took the wicket of Queensland batsman Bill Brown in his third match of the season. Ritchie Benaud pictured in 2004, when he was commentating for Channel 4. [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. A veteran of 63 Test matches,. But I will be doing all sorts of, what I regard as, interesting things for Channel Nine on the cricketspecial features on the cricket". He was with us as a player, journalist . or debate this issue live on our message boards. [119] He died in his sleep on 10 April 2015. [78] Benaud started the series with seven wickets and a half century as the First Test in Brisbane was drawn. 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. He ended with 121 and took four wickets in the match as Australia won by an innings and took the series 30. Richie Benaud's influence on cricket on and off the field is being lauded by players and fans alike, . Leading opposition batsman Everton Weekes edged Benaud in his first over, but Gil Langley dropped the catch. He ended with 3/56, the first time he had taken three wickets in a match. 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. [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. [29], At the start of the 196364 season, Benaud announced that it would be his last at first-class level. 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. Asked whether that was sad for her, Marcia said: 'I've accepted it'. Australia had fallen to 6/92 on the final day chasing a target of 233 with Benaud and Davidson at the crease. [124], Benaud was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1961 for services to cricket. Fred Trueman with 216 Test wickets and Brian Statham with 229 were poised to overtake the record of 236 Test wickets set by the assistant-manager Alec Bedser. In 1963 he became the first player to complete the Test double of 200 wickets and 2,000 runs. [12] Hassett struck 179 in four hours, and took 47 runs from Benaud's seven overs. Richie Benaud cricketer (1930-2015) . Australian cricketer who led his country in 28 Test matches and later became one of the worlds most respected commentators. 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. Thus, the 2005 Ashes series was the last that Benaud commentated on in Britain. ", Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbottexternal-link said Benaud's passing was "a sad day for Australia", adding: "We have lost a cricketing champion and Australian icon. Benaud struck exactly 100 in the first innings, before taking 4/70 in South Africa's reply. 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 was the accompaniment of an Australian summer. 'I thought when he retired we would be a family together again,' she said. Australia never lost a series under the leg-spinning all-rounder's . 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. She kept me informed so that I knew when Dad was sick. His first series as skipper was remarkable for a number of reasons. It worked at once, and Benaud used it thereafter. ', Marcia said she waited two years to get divorced, 'because of my sons.' 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. 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. 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. 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'. 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. Richie proposed to Marcia and the engaged pair planned to marry on January 15, 1953, in between the third and fourth tests against the touring South African team. It was his first five-wicket haul in a Test innings. 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. I made chicken soup and we had roast chicken and salad. He defined an era with conviction and sincerity.". The unprecedented public interest saw the Caribbean touring party farewelled with a ticker-tape parade by the Australian public. [125] In 1999, he was awarded a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Sports Broadcaster. 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. 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. He took 18 wickets in these matches, including 3/20 and 3/37 against Oxford University, 5/13 against Minor Counties and 4/38 against Hampshire. Three years later, against the West Indies at Sydney, he first played for Australia. The chairman of selectors, Sir Donald Bradman, made it clear that he was keen to see Test cricket rescued from a period of dull introversion, and the two captains approached the series in a positive frame of mind. Listen to impressionist Rory Bremner paying tribute to Richie Benaud. One of Benauds last public contributions was a touching voiceover tribute to Phillip Hughes, who died when struck by a bouncer in November 2014. [8] He contributed significantly with both bat and ball in New South Wales' Sheffield Shield triumph, the first of nine consecutive titles. BBC Radio 5 live pays tribute to Richie Benaud. His success was based on his ability to attack, his tactical boldness and his ability to extract more performance from his players, in particular Davidson. Benaud was another contender with 219 wickets, but it was Statham who broke the record (only to be overtaken by Trueman in New Zealand) and Benaud had to be content with breaking Ray Lindwall's Australian record of 228 Test wickets. By Candace Sutton for Daily Mail Australia, Published: 05:25 GMT, 2 October 2015 | Updated: 10:26 GMT, 2 October 2015. 1930 - 2015. [7], At this stage of his career, he had played 13 Tests with mediocre results. [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]. [32] He claimed his Test innings best of 7/72 in the first innings of the First Test in Madras, allowing Australia to build a large lead and win by an innings.

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