Richie Benaud

From Cricipedia - The Cricket Encyclopedia!

Richard "Richie" Benaud (born 6 October 1930 in Penrith, New South Wales) is a former Australian cricketer and longstanding media commentator who is widely considered to have set an unparalleled standard for cricket commentary on television.

Benaud was a world-class 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 captain of the Australian cricket team and, until his retirement in 1964, took international cricket into the modern era by emphasising the need for positive play, using his media expertise to communicate his and his team's goals clearly and effectively.

Since retiring from international cricket in 1964 he has become a highly regarded commentator on the game.

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."

He was made an OBE in 1961 for services to cricket and in 2007 was inducted in the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame at the Allan Border Medal award evening.