Richie Benaud 1930 - 2015

[peternorth]

the thing that stands out about RB is that he has provided thought for what 40 years or so through TV and radio medium. he's seen the impact of colour tv in the mid 70s, digital tv, and internet all competing for space, time, and attention. today, with so much information at fingertips people are able to engage various forums to be informed. however, richie was always someone everyone stopped looking at their phones for just to hear him speak.

these days, with everyone from admin to players giving as much time to their twitter than playing the game, its difficult to maintain a captive audience. generations of ME ME ME are all around us, but richie rose about this and demanded your ear.

he gave us a valuable outlet to forget about the worlds troubles. if only those presenting today would learn and undertake his advice. we, the viewers and listeners, have become dumber for this tragedy.

he will be commentating the greats of the game in heaven with alan mcgilvray

 

[Hellgood]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/859817.html

Terrific article by Mark Nicholas. Nailed it in saying that the first word to come to mind when you think of Richie Benaud was 'dignity'.

Has been enormously influential on the game for sixty years and yet there is not a single bad word to be spoken about him anywhere. Not as though he wasn't afraid of breaking a few eggs for something he believed strongly because he was an integral figure in the development of World Series Cricket, so to retain universal admiration and respect speaks volumes of the man.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/859817.html

Terrific article by Mark Nicholas. Nailed it in saying that the first word to come to mind when you think of Richie Benaud was 'dignity'.

Has been enormously influential on the game for sixty years and yet there is not a single bad word to be spoken about him anywhere. Not as though he wasn't afraid of breaking a few eggs for something he believed strongly because he was an integral figure in the development of World Series Cricket, so to retain universal admiration and respect speaks volumes of the man.

That is a sensational article, well said Nicholas.

 

[Gough]

It's a shame Nicolas is surrounded by such a lot of buffoons in the nine box, it diminishes him a great deal, his pieces are always interesting, well written, and insightful.

 

[Hellgood]

Nicholas gets a bit of stick on here because he lays it on thick with his commentary (personally I think he's one of the best commentators going around today), but I don't think anyone can deny that he is one excellent writer. Very thoughtful and well researched.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

Nicholas gets a bit of stick on here because he lays it on thick with his commentary (personally I think he's one of the best commentators going around today), but I don't think anyone can deny that he is one excellent writer. Very thoughtful and well researched.

He's a very good writer. I always read his pieces in cricinfo. He's also good onscreen presenter, shame that he tries to fit into the nine knucklehead brigade in the commentary team as it really does him no justice.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

I did feel a little uneasy at the time it was played, it felt Channel 9 were preparing us for his death.

Nothing unusual there, the media's always prepared for events like this, especially seeing as Richie was 84 and in very poor health.

I realise a majority of cricket supporters would only know Richie as a commentator and journalist, but I would have liked a little more about his playing career. They touched on it, but I would have liked a little more.

 

[aflcliche]

Should've had a lap of honour at the world cup final

 

[ManWithNoName]

Should've had a lap of honour at the world cup final

He probably wouldn't have been well enough.

 

[ManWithNoName]

The offer of a state funeral has been declined by Richie's wife, Daphne.

But Benaud's widow Daphne phoned Canberra on Saturday to kindly decline the offer of a state funeral.

"I thought it was important that as a mark of the respect that we have long had for him that we should offer a state funeral," Mr Abbott told reporters on Sunday.

"But my understanding is that Richie's own wishes were for something very, very quiet, and something very, very private."

He will be remembered this week with a private gathering attended only by his immediate family.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-...nes-state-funeral-offer/6386624?section=sport

 

[Gough]

Interesting second last paragraph in this letter.

Warne was certainly never the same bowler once his shoulder started playing up, although a drop from god like genius to magician is nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[worbod]

A quote attributed to Richie from a one day game in the early 1980s:

And England will still win this match provided Australia don't make the required runs.

 

[peternorth]

speaks volumes of the benaud family and RB with the declination of a state funeral.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

speaks volumes of the benaud family and RB with the declination of a state funeral.

Correct, and it is exactly why funerals should be private. They are for the family and their closest friends to remember, they are not for the whole public to interfere.

Well done to the Benaud family, and RIP Richie.

 

[worbod]

Nothing unusual there, the media's always prepared for events like this, especially seeing as Richie was 84 and in very poor health.

I realise a majority of cricket supporters would only know Richie as a commentator and journalist, but I would have liked a little more about his playing career. They touched on it, but I would have liked a little more.

Can I take this as an invitation to post a few stats?

• Benaud was the first player to achieve 2000 runs and 200 wickets in Test matches. At the beginning of the 1980s, only Sobers and he had done it. Now with so many more Tests played, 17 players have achieved it.
• He never lost a series as captain, something also achieved by Don Bradman and Ian Chappell. From other countries, I think Viv Richards is the only other captain with this distinction.
• His 248 wickets were the Australian record for 16 years until Dennis Lillee broke it.
• He is the last Australian to have scored a century and taken five wickets in an innings of the same Test, achieved versus South Africa in 1957-58 (100 and 5-84 in the fourth Test).
• He holds the record for the most first class wickets in a South African season, taking 106 on the 1957-58 tour.
• He is one of only three players to have achieved 300 runs and 30 wickets in a Test series, again in the 1957-58 series versus South Africa.

 

[peternorth]

Correct, and it is exactly why funerals should be private. They are for the family and their closest friends to remember, they are not for the whole public to interfere.

Well done to the Benaud family, and RIP Richie.

will the funeral be televised?

 

[LukeParkerno1]

will the funeral be televised?

Hope not again these should be free from public spotlight. There is no need for it.

 

[worbod]

In Wisden 2003 there is an article titled "Being There", in which the question is posed as to who has seen the most Test cricket. Richie emerges as the most likely candidate, and Wisden records Benaud's precise figure of 486, with Benaud explaining via an e-mail to the annual how he arrived at this figure. He states he played in 63, saw 3 as a twelfth man, witnessed one when injured on tour (at Lord's in 1961) and witnessed another when injured at home (at the MCG in 1963-64). This gives him 68 during his playing time. Benaud then details that after his playing days there were 11 covered in West Indies, 8 covered in South Africa, 5 covered in New Zealand, 223 in England and 171 in Australia, which equals 486 at the end of the 2002-03 Ashes series.
I was interested to try to calculate what the final total might now be. I believe Benaud finished commentating in England after the 2005 Ashes, which means he saw 7 more England home Tests in 2003 (2 vs. Zimbabwe, 5 vs. South Africa), 7 more in 2004 (3 vs. NZ, 4 vs. Windies) and 7 more in 2005 (2 vs. Bangladesh, 5 Ashes Tests). This gives him 21 more Tests witnessed in England.
In Australia, I believe 2011-12 was the final season where Richie commentated here. If I assume he commentated every Test, he would have witnessed 2 "Top End" Tests vs. Bangladesh in 2003, 6 in 2003-04 (2 vs. Zimbabwe, 4 vs. India), 2 "Top End" Tests vs. Sri Lanka in 2004, 5 in 2004-05 (2 vs. NZ, 3 vs. Pak), 7 in 2005-06 (1 vs. World XI, 3 each vs. SA and Windies), 5 in 2006-07 vs. England, 6 in 2007-08 (2 vs. Lanka, 4 vs. India), 5 in 2008-09 (2 vs. NZ, 3 vs. SA), 6 in 2009-10 (3 each vs. Windies and Pak), 5 vs. England in 2010-11 and 6 in 2011-12 (2 vs. NZ, 4 vs. India). This equals a further 55 Tests witnessed in Australia, and an overall total of 76 additional Tests when the extra English Tests are counted. When added onto the previously mentioned 486 this means Benaud has seen 562 Tests.
I stand to be corrected as to any Tests Benaud may have missed beyond 2002-03. I am simply adding on all the Tests played in Australia and England up until the time Benaud finished commentating in both countries.
In addition, Benaud would have seen all 10 Super Tests played in Australia during World Series Cricket (not sure whether he travelled to witness the Super Tests which were played overseas). He also commentated on the 5 unofficial Tests between England and Rest of the World in 1970, and probably witnessed the 5 unofficial Tests between Australia and Rest of the World in 1971-72. He would have covered these for a newspaper I imagine, as ABC did the TV coverage.
Finally Benaud would have also witnessed 3 unofficial Tests between Pakistan and a Commonwealth XI in 1967-68, as these were the final first class matches in which he played.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Just an aside. On the Richie Benaud tribute, we all would have had a giggle at Mark Taylor's comment about being lectured by Richie about calling Shane Warne's dismissal on 99 a "tragedy". I was watching some highlights on the 1975 World Cup Final today, and when Viv Richards ran out the two Chappell brothers, Richie himself commented, "What a tragedy!"

 

[Hass]

based on this - i'm calling BS to that tweet. work started in feb 2003 on the chappel stands, out of cricket season

http://www.builtenvirons.com.au/projects/entertainment-and-sport/adelaide-oval-chappell-stands/

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/126252.html

The tweet got the gist of things but was off the mark a little.

It was during a Mercantile-Mutual Cup game at the Adelaide Oval in 1997/98 just after they had installed the retractable lights (which proved to be unreliable/dangerous and were soon replaced by permanent ones). I'm pretty sure SA were playing against Tasmania.

Richie was talking about the new lights when he said "I understand these light towers take 30 minutes to achieve full erection... and appropriately enough the man on strike is Nathan Adcock."

 

[peternorth]

so refreshing to see richie laid to rest in a private, respectful ceremony without tv cameras. hope no one took selfies there, or tweeted.

 

[worbod]

Not sure whether Richie had an interest in the A. F. L., but the day of his death occurred on the first day of Round 2.
Prior to the beginning of this round, Adelaide were on top of the ladder with a percentage of 222.2 (in fact, 222.222222222 ad infinitum).

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Not sure whether Richie had an interest in the A. F. L.

Very doubtful. Since he retired in 1963-64, he spent every winter in England. That was always the reason for the joke about the sun tan. Never saw a winter in 50 years.

 

[Kram]

Driving back from Perth on Sunday some 12th man came up on my Ipod, just couldn't listen to it knowing that the great man had just left us.

 

[Registered User]

speaks volumes of the benaud family and RB with the declination of a state funeral.

Yeah, spot on.
I bet some pricks at the tv stations were spewin coz they couldn't exploit it to make a buck