Benaud, understated hero of the commentary box

The pudding-bowl haircut, beige jacket and understated style did not mark him out for TV, but Richie Benaud’s razor-sharp judgement and engaging wit have made him one of cricket’s top broadcasters.

“Morning everyone,” “don’t bother looking for that let alone chasing that,” and “it’s gone into the confectionery stall and out again” were just some of the phrases that kept generations of fans glued to their sets.

Benaud, who announced his retirement on Wednesday, is set to end nearly half-a-century of globe-trotting commentary next year when he ends his commitment with Australian television.

Broadcasting

The 78-year-old started broadcasting full-time in 1964, after ending a distinguished playing career in which he captained Australia to three Ashes series wins.

Benaud, who has divided his time between Britain and Australia, was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1961, and in 2007 he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.

“A guru to Ian Chappell and Shane Warne among others, he is perhaps the most influential cricketer and cricket personality since the Second World War,” wrote cricket writer Gideon Haigh.

“As a leg-spinner, he was full of baits and traps, and he batted and fielded with verve.

Contingency

“Yet it was his presence, as much as anything, which summoned the best from players: cool but communicative, he impressed as one to whom no event was unexpected, no contingency unplanned for.

“The same has applied to his journalism: terse, direct and commonsensical, and his broadcasting: mellow and authoritative.” Such has been the longevity of his broadcasting career, some viewers are unaware of Benaud’s achievements as a cricketer.

A leg-spinning all-rounder, he was the first man to complete the Test double of 2,000 runs and 200 wickets. But he won greatest acclaim for his bold captaincy, leading Australia to Ashes series wins in 1958-59, 1961 and 1962-63 and never losing a series as skipper. Now, no sooner have leading cricketers taken off their whites for the last time than they are in a commentary box. But unlike the modern breed, Benaud learnt the ropes with Noel Bailey, crime correspondent of the Sydney Sun newspaper. In England he became a columnist with the News of the World, Britain’s biggest-selling Sunday newspaper and was also a key advisor for Kerry Packer’s breakaway World Series Cricket organisation in the late 1970s.

Given his 63 Tests as a player and 45 years in the commentary box, no-one has played or watched more top-class cricket than Benaud.

He says the famous tied Test when the West Indies toured Australia in 1960-1961 was his most exciting match as a player, but rates the 2005 Ashes as the best series he has watched. Benaud was given a standing ovation by the crowd at Lord’s after completing his final commentary stint there in September 2005, and can expect a similarly emotional farewell when he retires for good next year.

SYDNEY, Friday, AFP