Cricket world mourns ‘marvellous’ Richie Benaud

Dubai: The golden voice of world cricket has been silenced as Richie Benaud, the legendary cricketer-turned-commentator, passed away aged 84 early on Friday after battling skin cancer.

He leaves behind many unforgettable memories for lovers of the game.

Most modern-day cricket fans grew up listening to his commentary and reading his articles based on his immaculate observations of the game. He was responsible for luring a large number of fans to the game through his colourful descriptions of exciting moments.

For those who have been lucky enough to watch him in action, he was a master in the art of leg spin. He carried his innovative ways as a player, which earned him laurels as an outstanding all-rounder, into his commentary and writing.

I was eager to meet him in person and luckily enough the Sharjah tournaments in the 1980s gave me that chance. Benaud was a regular commentator at the Sharjah Cricketers Benefit Fund Series and during breaks he used to come and sit with us in the press box.

The team dressing rooms used to be very close to the press box those days and almost every top player made it a point to come and sit with him and pick his brains. It was how Sachin Tendulkar met this legend for the first time here and got a lecture on the art of leg spin, and so did Shane Warne.

Benaud loved to talk and it was also an opportunity for journalists to interact with him. Ask him on what makes a good commentator or a writer of cricket and his snap answer was: “Never insult the reader by telling him what he saw or a television viewer what he has been watching. He is reading you or listening to hear something different that he has not observed.”

Recently during the World Cup, as soon as I entered the Sydney Cricket Ground, it was a sculpture of Richie Benaud that greeted me. Being an admirer of this legend, I took a picture as it looks like he is welcoming everyone to the ground with open arms. As a person he was exactly like the pose in the sculpture, greeting everyone with warmth and smile. He also never forgot a face he had met once.

Sydney Cricket ground considers him as their proud product as he grew up there playing for Penrith, his place of birth, in Sydney Grade Cricket.

Benaud, being an eloquent speaker, was in huge demand to speak at functions or to budding cricketers. Once he told a bunch of youngsters who asked him how to become a good spinner like him: “A bleeding ring finger at the end of every training session should be normal and essential for development as a wrist spinner.”

Benaud’s one-liners have often been copied by many, like when Australia tail-ender Glenn McGrath got out for two, he said he was dismissed 98 runs short of his century. If a batsman hit a powerful six, he used to remark: “Don’t bother looking for that [ball], it is gone forever.” He was also famed for describing moments as ‘marvellous’.

His observation on captaincy was that it is ‘90 per cent luck and 10 per cent skill, but don’t try it without that 10 per cent’.

Those who listened to his Test commentary will never forget the voice that began every day by saying ‘morning everyone’. Benaud now leaves everyone mourning.