Richie Benaud

Richie Benaud

Player information
Surname	Richard Benaud
Born	October 6, 1930 Penrith City , New South Wales , Australia
Died	April 10, 2015 at the age of 84
Batting style	Right handed
Bowling style	Right-handed leg spin
Relationships	John Benaud
International games
National team	Australia
Test debut (cap 63)	January 25, 1952 v  West Indies
Last test	7th February 1964 v  South Africa
National teams
Years	team
1948-1964	New South Wales
Career statistics
Game form	test	FC
Games	63	259
Runs (total)	2,201	11,719
Batting average	24.45	36.50
100s / 50s	3/9	23/61
Highscore	122	187
Balls	19,108	60,481
Wickets	248	945
Bowling Average	27.03	24.73
5 wickets in innings	0	0
10 wickets in play	0	0
Best bowling performance
Catches / stumpings	65/0	254/0
Source: ESPN cricinfo , April 15, 2015

Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE (born October 6, 1930 Penrith , † April 10, 2015 in Sydney ) was an Australian cricketer and sports commentator .

Career as a cricketer

Benaud began his career at the age of 18 in 1948 for the New South Wales cricket team and won the Sheffield Shield twice ( 1948/49 , 1949/50 ) with the team . In 1951 he was nominated for the first time for the Australian national team for a test of the tour against the West Indies and completed his first test match in Sydney . After a controversial early years in the national team, he was part of the regular and undisputed selection from 1953. He scored his first of three Test Centuries with 121 runs in the 5th Test of the Tour in the West Indies in 1955 . He achieved the other two with 122 and 100 runs in the 1957/58 season in South Africa . He achieved his best result as a bowler in the 1956/57 season in India , when he got 7 wickets for 72 runs in the first test. In 1958 he was appointed captain of the national team. Under his leadership, Australia managed to win the Ashes game series that year against the favored English team in Australia. The Ashes series from 1961 in England also won Australia under his leadership. In 1962 he was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year . Under Benaud, a third Ashes series was played in Australia in 1962/1963 , but it ended in a draw. In the 1963/1964 season, Benaud played in three Tests against South Africa , but then under his successor as Captain Bob Simpson . Benaud then ended his official playing career and only appeared in charity games.

Benaud was known as a brilliant tactician. As a bowler he mainly used leg spin , but was not limited to it alone, but mastered all types of bowling.

Benaud was captain of the team in 28 test matches and under his leadership Australia did not lose any test series. He was the first player to score 2,000 runs and 200 wickets in Test cricket. Benaud played in a total of 63 tests and scored 248 wickets, which was an Australian record. As a player, he is referred to as the most important Australian cricketer after Donald Bradman . In 1961 he was honored with the Order of the British Empire for services to cricket. At the Sydney Cricket Ground , Benaud was honored with a life-size statuette.

Career as a sports reporter

Benaud worked as a cricket reporter for the British newspaper News of the World from his first series as a player in England in 1956 until it was hired in 2011.

After the end of his active career as a cricketer, he began to get involved as a reporter on television, where he had worked for the BBC since 1960 . Benaud remained affiliated with the BBC until 1999, after which he joined Channel 4 . He stayed there until 2005 when the cricket broadcasting rights switched to the pay-TV channel Sky. In Australia he worked for Channel 9 from 1977 when Kerry Packer was looking for a voice for his World Series Cricket . In the 1970s, his commentary style was controversial and his replacement was occasionally requested. But he changed cricket reporting permanently and was considered one of the most famous reporters in this area for both the BBC and Australia.

Private life

In October 2013, Benaud was injured in a car accident and was unable to participate as a reporter in the following Ashes series for the first time in decades. In November 2014, he was expected to return to the comment box after recovering from the injuries, but stated that he was being treated for skin cancer and would not be able to start work as a result. He regretted it and said that one of the things you learn late in life was that he hadn't worn a hat or sunscreen.

His younger brother John played test cricket for Australia and for the New South Wales team, of which he was captain.

Benaud was first married to Marcia Lavender, with whom he had two sons. After divorcing his first wife, he was married to Daphne Surfleet. This marriage remained childless. Richie Benaud died on April 10, 2015 at the age of 84 in Sydney of complications from cancer.

Web links

Commons : Richie Benaud  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cricketer of the year 1962: Richie Benaud ( English ) Wisden. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
2. ↑ David Frith: Richie Benaud obituary. In: The Guardian , April 10, 2015, accessed April 10, 2015.
3. ↑ Jack de Menezes: Richie Benaud: Former cricketer and broadcaster dubbed 'The voice of cricket' dies, aged 84. In: The Independent , April 10, 2015, accessed April 10, 2015.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Kevin Rawlinson: Richie Benaud, former Australia cricket captain, dies at 84. In: The Guardian, April 10, 2015, accessed April 10, 2015.
5. ^ Former captain Richie Benaud passes away. Report on cricket.com.au., April 10, 2015, accessed April 10, 2015 (English).
6. ↑ Haroon Siddique: Richie Benaud's family declines Tony Abbott's offer of a state funeral. In: The Guardian, April 12, 2015, accessed April 15, 2015.