Richie Benaud

Richie Benaud

Personal information
Full name	Richard Benaud
Born	6 October 1930(1930-10-06) Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
Died	April 10, 2015(2015-04-10) (aged 84) Sydney, New South Wales
Nickname	Richie
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm leg spin
Role	All-rounder, commentator
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 190)	25 January 1952 v West Indies
Last Test	12 February 1964 v South Africa
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1948–1964	New South Wales
Career statistics
Competition	Tests	First-class
Matches	63	259
Runs scored	2201	11719
Batting average	24.45	36.50
100s/50s	3/9	23/61
Top score	122	187
Balls bowled	19108	60481
Wickets	248	945
Bowling average	27.03	24.73
5 wickets in innings	16	56
10 wickets in match	1	9
Best bowling	7/72	7/18
Catches/stumpings	65/–	254/–
Source: Cricinfo, 22 December 2007

Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE (6 October 1930 - 10 April 2015) was a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, had become a highly regarded commentator on the game.

Benaud was a Test cricket all-rounder, blending thoughtful leg spin bowling with lower-order batting aggression. Along with fellow bowling all-rounder Alan Davidson, he helped restore Australia to the top of world cricket in the late 1950s and early 1960s after a slump in the early 1950s. In 1958 he became Australia's Test captain until his retirement in 1964.

Gideon Haigh described him as "... perhaps the most influential cricketer and cricket personality since the Second World War." In his review of Benaud's autobiography Anything But, Sri Lankan cricket writer Harold de Andrado wrote: "Richie Benaud possibly next to Sir Don Bradman has been one of the greatest cricketing personalities as player, researcher, writer, critic, author, organiser, adviser and student of the game."

Personal life and death

Benaud married Marcia in 1953 and had two sons from this marriage; he divorced Marcia in 1967. In 1967, he married his second wife, Daphne Surfleet, who had worked for the English cricket writer E. W. Swanton.

On 29 October 2008, Benaud's mother Irene died, aged 104. He said of his mother, "She improved my love of vegetables by introducing the phrase, 'You can't go out and play cricket until you have eaten all your vegetables.'"

In October 2013 Benaud crashed his vintage 1963 Sunbeam Alpine into a wall whilst driving in the Coogee area of Sydney. He sustained a cracked sternum and shoulder injuries. Slow recovery meant he was unable to commentate for Australia's Channel Nine during the 2013–14 Ashes series.

In November 2014, at age 84, Benaud announced that he was diagnosed with skin cancer. He died in his sleep on 10 April 2015. Prime Minister Tony Abbott offered his family a state funeral.

External links

• HowSTAT! statistical profile on Richie Benaud