Yes! [36] His batting was reliable, with 227 runs at 32.47. [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. 65/-. Discover the real story, facts, and details of Richie Benaud. Australia needed six runs from the final over, in which Benaud was caught and the last two wickets fell to run outs while attempting the winning run. 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. [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. [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]. On March 29, 1967 Marcia divorced Richie Benaud on the grounds of desertion. 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. [59], Benaud had contributed 91 runs at 15.16 and 29 wickets at 19.59. Opening the batting, he struck 135 in 110 minutes in the second innings, including an Australian record of eleven sixes, four of them in one over. Benaud's ad featured him in various scenic locations uttering his signature comment, "Marvellous!". [4], Benaud was not a large spinner of the ball, but he was known for his ability to extract substantial bounce from the surface. Following his retirement from international cricket in 1964, Benaud became a highly regarded commentator on the game. [citation needed], Benaud took over when Australian cricket was in a low phase with a young team. Benaud went around the wicket and bowled into the footmarks, having Dexter caught behind and then Peter May bowled around his legs. [8], He also showed his hitting ability in a tour match against T.N. [24], Australia's selectors persisted and selected him for the squad to tour the West Indies in 195455. . Richie Benaud cricketer (1930-2015) . Marcia Benaud and Greg Benaud have launched legal action in the NSW Supreme Court challenging Richie Benaud's second wife Daphne for a slice of his multi-million-dollar estate. Aussie TV stands up for England", "12th Man Billy Birmingham on Richie Benaud", "Richie Benaud retires from all television commentary", "Richie Benaud signs new three-year deal with Channel Nine", "Richie Benaud dies: Prime Minister Tony Abbott offers a state funeral for cricket great", "Bon Voyage, 'Sir Richie': a teacher, a gentleman", "Voice of cricket happy to strengthen his French connection", "Richie Benaud A Marvellous Life 19302015 Full Episode", "Richie Benaud: time to say goodbye to cricket's permanent witness", "Richie Benaud: World pays tribute to cricket legend & commentator", "Richie Benaud family declines Australia state funeral", "Richie Benaud: Private funeral for cricket legend", "Richie Benaud obituary: the 'voice of cricket' was the game's shrewdest analyst", "Benaud, Gooch, Compton, Larwood and Woolley inducted into Cricket Hall of Fame", "Marvellous Richie Benaud becomes the 40th Legend of Australian sport", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richie_Benaud&oldid=1141586246. 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'. [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. Only seven runs were required with four wickets in hand as time was running short. But that'll be no more television commentary". [119] He died in his sleep on 10 April 2015. His instinctive, aggressive captaincy and daring approach to cricket and his charismatic nature and public relations ability revitalised cricket interest in Australia. 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. 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. His record reads 12 wins, 11 draws, one tie, and four losses from 28 Tests in charge of Australia. [92], During Benaud's captaincy, Australia did not lose a series, and became the dominant team in world cricket. Marcia gave birth to their first son Greg in 1955, and Jeffery in 1958. "Richie was not just a great cricket commentator, he was one of the finest sports commentators of his generation," said Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport. [99], He openly criticised the actions by the Chappell brothers (Trevor and Greg) in the post-match reaction to the underarm bowling incident of 1981, proving his moral integrity far outweighed his unconditional patriotism for Australia. 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. Although the shoulder injury had affected him, Benaud did produce a memorable piece of bowling in the New South Wales match against England, taking 7 for 18, his best figures in first-class cricket. [108], Benaud's distinctive speaking style has been frequently parodied on the Australian comedy series Comedy Inc. and The Twelfth Man. This memorial website was created in memory of Richie Benaud, 84, born on October 6, 1930 and passed away on April 10, 2015. Asked whether that was sad for her, Marcia said: 'I've accepted it'. Ms Benaud said Richie hadkept in touch with their sons, but as the years went by they 'didn't see him as often'. Catches/ stumpings. Benaud was cementing his position and was in the senior team for four consecutive matches even with the Test players available. [8] Selected as a batsman, he scored 3 and 19. He was 84. [29][36], When Ian Craig fell ill at the start of the 195859 season, Benaud was promoted to the captaincy ahead of vice-captain Neil Harvey. 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. How did Richie Benaud Die? [29], At the start of the 196364 season, Benaud announced that it would be his last at first-class level. In his later career, he added the flipper, a combination of the googly and top spinner which was passed to him by Bruce Dooland. Benaud died late on Thursday . After his retirement from international cricket in 1964, he became a well-known commentator on the game. There would be very few Australians who have not passed a summer in the company of Richie Benaud. Benaud erroneously recalled in an autobiography that this was his maiden wicketit was, in fact, his fourthand described the ball as "the worst I ever bowled". 581 Former Australia cricket captain and renowned commentator Richie Benaud has died aged 84. As a captain, he never lost a Test series. Witch, Harridan, Harpy, and new insults like Karen and Terf. He also made 113 against the touring side for the Prime Minister's XI. Last updated on 10 April 201510 April 2015.From the section Cricket. He was a one-off., Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. 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. 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. [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. Now Richie Benaud's first wife Marcia, who lives with one of Richie's estranged sons in a housing commission cottage, is about to have that once private life become very public. . [103], The idea for what became his trademarkwearing a cream or white jacket during live commentarycame from Channel 9 owner Kerry Packer, who suggested the look to help Benaud stand out from the rest of the commentary team. It was not the first time he had been hospitalised by a blow to the head. 'But it suited [Richie] to keep it quiet, and so that's how it was kept.'. After Don Bradman, there has been no Australian player more famous or more influential than Richie Benaud.. The pharmacist, Ivan James, suggested a treatment with calamine lotion and boracic acid. Marcia had thought Richie's hanging up of the bat would bring him home. Benaud built his reputation as a commentator following an outstanding playing career in which he took 945 wickets in 259 first-class matches and made 11,719 first-class runs, scoring 23 centuries at an average of 36.50. or debate this issue live on our message boards. Rich couldn't make it and I'll always be grateful that Mr Menzies said, "well your wife might like to go".'. He led his country in 28 Tests and never lost a series as Australian captain. He ended with 121 and took four wickets in the match as Australia won by an innings and took the series 30. Benaud contributed 46 and match figures of 2/73 in a First Test victory at Kingston. He was buried on April 15 in a private funeral ceremony attended only by immediate family members. 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. [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. But he had been a distinguished performer for Australia on the cricket field himself, playing for his country for 12 years until 1964. [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. Birth date: 6 October, 1930, Monday. Even worse, many such slurs aren't from men but 'I couldn't do it without you': Victoria Beckham poses with her whole family after her PFW show - as she Brooklyn Beckham puts on a loved-up display with wife Nicola Peltz as they head back to hotel after Cruz Beckham supports his mother Victoria as he carrying his very own VB handbag on the way to her show Like father, like daughter! [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. 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. At this point, Australia had already taken an unassailable 31 series lead and decided to try out some young players. Richie Benaud. 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. In 1952-53 Benaud played against South Africa, recording a duck and having his front teeth smashed while fielding at gully in the Sydney Test, which coincided with his honeymoon. According to Eryk Bagshaw of The Sydney Morning Herald, Benaud had been in hospice care while. His leg spin yielded ten wickets at 30.60, with a best of 4/118 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide when he was given a heavy workload, totalling 58 overs,[7] when Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller broke down during the match. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, In October 2018, Benaud became the 40th Legend in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. ", Benaud married Marcia Lavender in 1953 and had two sons, Greg and Jeffery, from this marriage; he divorced Marcia in 1967. [4] The First Test at Edgbaston was drawn with Benaud taking three wickets. He sustained a cracked sternum and shoulder injuries. As a batsman, he was tall and lithe, known for his hitting power, in particular his lofted driving ability from the front foot. SURPRISINGLY, there is a French Cricket Association. 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. [31] In 1967, he married his second wife, Daphne Surfleet, who had worked for the English cricket writer E. W. 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. The Ashes were retained in England in 1961, though a shoulder injury kept Benaud from the Lords Test, which was won by Australia under Harvey. 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". [61], The Test was tied when Solomon ran out Ian Meckiff with a direct hit. Greg said that in the days before cricketers were well paid ''I tried to understand that Dad didn't have a lot to spare as fare as helping us. [91] In 196768 he captained a Commonwealth team against Pakistan, playing in his last five first-class fixtures. Benaud, Richard (Richie) (1930-2015) by Kersi Meher-Homji. She rushed to St Vincent's Hospital where he was having his mouth stitched. 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. He added another fifty and ended with 250 runs at 31.25. Midway through the season, he played in Morris's XI in a testimonial match for Hassett, who captained the other team. In fact they have shunned it. Benaud stated he would spend the Northern Hemisphere summer in Britain writing, and would continue working for the Nine Network in Australia. The unprecedented public interest saw the Caribbean touring party farewelled with a ticker-tape parade by the Australian public. Benaud, a former Australian captain and cricketing commentator, was 84 when he died in April 2015 after battling skin cancer. 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. Six further wickets in the drawn Third Test saw Benaud end the series with 84 runs at 28 and 18 wickets at 21.11. But he was a survivor, even if his friendship with Bradman never quite recovered from that cricket civil war. [6], In November 1948, at the age of 18, Benaud was selected for the New South Wales Colts, the state youth team. 'Dad thought it was important not to cut us off from our grandparents,' Greg said, 'and so we kept in contact with Nan and Pa Benaud and Nanna and Grandpop Lavender and continued to visit them when Dad was overseas. A strong England party, led by Peter May, were widely expected to retain the Ashes. 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. [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. 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. Benaud led New South Wales throughout a dominant season, winning the Sheffield Shield with 64 of the 80 possible points. '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. 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. There were good times when he was home at the family house in Beecroft, in Sydney's north. [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. Benaud, whose witty one-liners from the commentary box resonated far beyond. After such an impressive playing career, he became even better known as a prolific author, columnist and commentator on cricket. Reaction to the death of former Australian cricket captain and commentator Richie Benaud, known as the 'Voice of Cricket'. Marcia Benaud, a gracious lady with a merry laugh and good sense of humour (pictured with son Greg, 60, at their Central Coast home) spoke with affection and sadness about her marriage to cricketing legend Richie, Greg Benaud (pictured), the elder son of cricketing legend Richie, was an off-break and then leg-spin bowler encouraged by his Dad. Such guarded humour as he evinced bore the touch of a man who was keen to be seen above all else as discerning. [4] The first of these came in the First Test at Johannesburg, where after conceding 1/115, Benaud struck 122, his highest Test score, to see Australia reach a draw. It was something he shouldn't have done. [7] His only wicket was that of the all-rounder Trevor Bailey. The selectors long-term planning had reached fulfilment. The cricketer turned broadcaster had been battling skin cancer and recovering from the after-effects of a car accident . 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. 'I kept on seeing Dad throughout my life - occasionally,' confirmed Greg Benaud. He chose to end his British commentary career, which spanned more than 42 years, when the rights to broadcast live Test match cricket were lost by Channel 4 to the subscription broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting. 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. BBC Radio 5 live pays tribute to Richie Benaud. In 2017, the Australian Mint issued a 50-cent coin commemorating Benaud. [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. Benauds crew cruised to a 4-0 victory, the skipper taking 31 wickets for an average of 18.83 runs each. 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. 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. By Andrew McGarry. Marcia said that from time to time when people inquired about her name, she would quietly respond that yes, she was the first Mrs Richie Benaud. This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 20:19. [7], In his early career, Benaud was a batting all-rounder, marked by a looping backlift which made him suspect against fast bowling but allowed him to have a wide attacking stroke range. [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. Marcia Lavender was a shorthand typist from Strathfield in Sydney's inner west and working at a chartered accountants office in Sydney's CBD where young cricketer Richie Benaud was trying to make a career. [117], Benaud had last handed "Baggy green" caps to Simon Katich and Mitchell Starc when they made their test debut, but Benaud's own was lost early in his Test career, and former captainnow commentator and the Director of Cricket Australia, Mark Taylorwas to present the replacement cap to him at the semi-final of the 2015 Cricket World Cup between Australia and India at the SCG, but Benaud was too unwell to attend, and when the cap arrived at Channel 9 headquarters, it was the day before Benaud died. [7] In the opening match of the season, he struck 158 and took 5/88 and 1/65 against Queensland. CNN Former Australia cricket captain and legendary broadcaster Richie Benaud has died at the age of 84. They were different times and it was the right thing to do for them.'. The young leg spinner claimed Hassett in the second innings when a ball landed in a crack and skidded through onto his foot. It was screened before Australias Test series against India last December.