The voice of Australian cricket, Richie Benaud, has died in his Sydney hospice at the age of 84.
A highly regarded commentator of the game in later years, Benaud was a cricket legend until he retired in 1964. The test captain was a record-breaking leg-spinner in his days on the pitch and considered the second most famous cricketer after Don Bradman.
Benaud is credited with bringing Test cricket back to the state it remains in today, after a lull period in the '50s, using his personality and aggressive leadership. Under his charge, Australia and West Indies earned Test cricket's first tie during the series at the Gabba in 1960-61, with the intense match stirring interest among Australians, according to Cricket Australia.
As captain, the legendary Benaud didn't lose a match and retired from Test cricket with 63 Tests under his belt, a record 248 Test wickets and three Test centuries. The all-rounder scored more than 10,000 runs and took 500 wickets over his career, putting him in the company of only a select few.
But in the end, the bronzed man who could talk the talk, was just as well-known for his work off the field. After the 1956 England tour ended, Benaud remained for a presenting course with the BBC, from there he worked at the station before getting a gig at News of the World. Later on he divided his time between London and Australia, where he played a major role in the formation of Kerry Packer on World Series Cricket in 1977 and became Nine Network's voice of cricket for decades.
He stopped doing television commentary in the UK after the 2005 Ashes Test, but continued on with Channel Nine in Australia until 2013. In this year, he crashed his beloved vintage car into a wall, breaking his sternum, and wasn't able to commentate in 2013-14 Ashes Test. The soundtrack to the Aussie summer was never to be heard again. In November 2014, he was diagnosed with skin cancer and sought treatment.
Benaud died on Apr. 10 in his sleep. He can sleep easy knowing he changed the world of cricket and Australian history with his distinctive style, dry humour and variety of cream jackets. In a standard Benaud catchphrase, his life was simply "marvellous".
A sad day for Australia. We have lost a cricketing champion and Australian icon. What an innings. RIP Richie Benaud— Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR) April 9, 2015
Vale Richie Benaud - the soundtrack to summer has passed. pic.twitter.com/6shzqlhxHq— Joe Hockey (@JoeHockey) April 9, 2015
Well played, Richie. Thanks for a lifetime of memories. The soundtrack of summer. A legend and a gentleman. pic.twitter.com/An1DJVH2WG— BenFordham (@BenFordham) April 9, 2015
Sad to hear about Richie Benaud. True legend of the sport & an Aussie icon. Thnks for years of bringing life 2 my fav sport #choo4twentychoo— Guy Sebastian (@GuySebastian) April 9, 2015
A sad day to hear about the loss of Richie Benaud #RIP A photo posted by Brett Lee (@brettlee_58) on Apr 9, 2015 at 4:45pm PDT
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