'The man who carried Channel Nine'
Former Australia cricketer and commentator Bill Lawry talks to Radio Sport about the passing of his good friend Richie Benaud. Lawry remembers meeting Benaud for the very first time, and shares his thoughts on working alongside the legendary TV personalit
10-Apr-2015
Former Australia cricketer and commentator Bill Lawry talks to Radio Sport about the passing of his good friend Richie Benaud. Lawry remembers meeting Benaud for the very first time, and shares his thoughts on working alongside the legendary TV personality.
In his piece for The Australian Gideon Haigh writes how Richie Benaud's simplicity and brevity impressed everyone from the occasional viewer to cricket connoisseur.
In a way, because his opinions so often became gospel, he was as influential as any cricket administrator of the post-war period. In Wisden Australia, Dr Greg Manning once denoted him "cricket's philosopher king".
Benaud the commentator seldom referred to his on-field experiences and accomplishments -- a shrewd expedient which had the effect of making him seem almost ageless -- and was amused when young admirers inquired innocently whether he had been a player. In fact, Benaud would rank among Test cricket's elite leg-spinners and captains had he never uttered or written a word about the game.
In the The Guardian's tribute to Richie Benaud and his honest and "inimitable" style of commentary, Richard Cooke admires how Benaud only made rare references to his playing experience despite being a distinguished player himslef.
Also seldom invoked was high praise. Hyperbolic fans like Bill Lawry or Mark Nicholas have to reach higher than Icarus to commentate anything extraordinary. Benaud could simply say "that's one of the best catches I've ever seen" or "Tendulkar is the best batsman I've seen since Bradman" and you would believe it, knowing he wouldn't say it next match, next month or next year. Scarcity meant the currency of his opinion wasn't debased.
But neither was it sclerotic. Benaud announced as captain he was going to do away with "dull cricket", and did. He also did away with "dull cricket" as a commentator, but not by embellishing it. Instead of calcifying, he became more wise and ironic in age, Yoda-like in philosophy and countenance.
Editor of Intelligent Life Tim de Lisle recalls his encounters with Richie Benaud and how perhaps his greatest talent was to know when not to speak.
As a cricketer, Benaud was very good. As a captain, he was one of the best. But, as a commentator, he was in a class of his own.
Many sports commentators are in love with the sound of their own voice, but Richie was in love with the drama of the game, and he preferred to let it speak for itself. His genius lay in knowing when not to say anything. His commentary was a piece of the finest Swiss cheese: it was the holes, the silences, that made it what it was.
BBC county cricket broadcaster Elizabeth Ammon, in the Sports Journalists Association website charts the impact Richie Benaud has had, both while playing and while calling cricket.
Benaud transcended the generations. Even those with little or no interest in cricket will have heard someone uttering the much-mimicked words "Morning everyone", with a gentle Aussie twang. Just those two words on the first morning a Test match evoked so much anticipation and excitement because when Benaud spoke, you knew that summer was here and everything was going to be just wonderful.