Benaud, Richie

Richie Benaud, byname of Richard Benaud, (born October 6, 1930, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia—died April 10, 2015, Sydney), cricketer who is best remembered as one of Australia’s most-imaginative captains. He served as captain of the Australian national team from 1958 to 1963, during which time Australia never lost a Test (international) series. After his retirement from professional cricket, Benaud moved on to a highly successful broadcasting career and was revered in both Australia and England for his cricket commentary, earning widespread recognition as “the voice of cricket.”

Benaud began playing organized competitive cricket at the age of six and made his debut in first-class cricket at the age of 18. He first appeared in Test matches in 1951. Benaud developed a reputation as a fine leg-spin bowler as well as an excellent batsman and fielder. He also became known for his intelligent and energetic play.

During Australia’s Test against the West Indies in 1955, Benaud displayed his batting prowess, recording a century (100 runs in a single innings) in 78 minutes—at that time the third fastest century in Test competition—en route to finishing with a score of 121. By the time of his appointment in 1958 as captain of the Australian national team, Benaud had also emerged as one of the game’s top bowlers. In the 1958–59 Ashes series, he took 31 wickets, leading his team to a 4–0 sweep of England. Australia retained the Ashes in 1961 and in 1962–63. During the period of Benaud’s captaincy, his charismatic leadership and shrewd knowledge of the sport helped rekindle public interest in cricket.

Benaud was selected Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1962. The following year he became the first player in the history of cricket to achieve the Test match double of 2,000 runs and 200 wickets. He retired from professional cricket in 1964 with totals of 2,201 runs and 248 wickets in 63 Tests (28 as captain). In domestic cricket, he played with New South Wales in 73 matches (32 as captain), scoring 3,749 runs and taking 266 wickets.

After his retirement as a player, Benaud remained one of the most visible and influential figures in the sport, appearing as a cricket commentator on British television until 2005 and on Australian television until 2013. He also wrote several books on cricket, including Richie Benaud’s Way of Cricket (1962), A Tale of Two Tests (1962), The Appeal of Cricket (1995), and My Spin on Cricket (2005). He became a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1961. In 2007 Benaud was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.