Cricketer, broadcaster, and international sports consultant, born in Penrith, New South Wales, SE Australia. He played in 63 Test matches for Australia (captain in 28), including three successful tours of England (1953, 1956, 1961). An all-rounder, he scored 2201 Test runs, including three centuries, and took 248 wickets with subtle leg-spin bowling. Upon retirement he became a well-known cricket commentator. He made his last UK broadcast in September 2005 on the final day of England's successful Ashes Test series, and that year published My Spin on Cricket.
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Richie Benaud Australia (AUS) |
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| Batting style | Right-handed batsman (RHB) | |
| Bowling type | Leg spin | |
| Tests | First-class | |
| Matches | 63 | 259 |
| Runs scored | 2201 | 11719 |
| Batting average | 24.45 | 36.50 |
| 100s/50s | 3/9 | 23/61 |
| Top score | 122 | 187 |
| Balls bowled | 19108 | 60481 |
| Wickets | 248 | 945 |
| Bowling average | 27.03 | 24.73 |
| 5 wickets in innings | 16 | 56 |
| 10 wickets in match | 1 | 9 |
| Best bowling | 7/72 | 7/19 |
| Catches/stumpings | 65/0 | 254/0 |
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Test debut: 25 January 1952 |
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Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE (born October 6, 1930 in Penrith, New South Wales) is a former Australian cricketer.
Cricket
In 1948 at the age of 18 he made his first-class cricket debut playing in a Sheffield Shield match for New South Wales against Queensland in Sydney.
Benaud played as a right-handed leg-spin all-rounder in a total of 259 first-class games until 1964, including 63 Tests, 28 as captain.
Several years of solid but unspectacular Test cricket followed in Australia as well as tours to the West Indies, England and Pakistan.
In the 1961 Ashes series in England he suffered a serious shoulder injury early in the first Test and was unable to play for the remainder of the match or the second Test.
He ended his Test career in Sydney with statistics of 248 wickets (the Test record at that time) at 27.03 and 2,201 runs at 24.45.
Cricket career highlights
Early in his career, he hit 100 runs against the West Indies in 78 minutes, the third fastest Test century of all time and the second fastest by an Australian. Benaud's highest Test batting score of 122 was made against South Africa, Johannesburg, 1957-1958 His best Test bowling effort of 7 for 72 was against India, Chennai, 1956-1957 He captained Australia in 28 Tests: 12 wins, 12 draws, 4 lossesMedia career
After the 1956 England tour, Benaud stayed behind in London to take a BBC presenter training course.
After retiring from playing in 1963, Benaud turned to full-time cricket journalism and commentary, dividing his time between Britain (where he worked for the BBC for many years, prior to joining Channel 4) and Australia (for the Nine Network).
With Channel 4's loss of the rights to broadcast live Test match cricket to Sky Sports, the 2005 Ashes series was the last that Benaud commentated on in Britain (though he will continue to spend the Northern Hemisphere summer in Britain writing, and will continue working for the Nine Network). Following the departure of live Test cricket to Rupert Murdoch's Sky TV, Benaud has become a staunch advocate of free-to-air TV, and chose to end a British commentary career spanning over 42 years when Channel 4's contract expired at the end of the 2005 Ashes.
His younger brother John, also played Test cricket for Australia.
Quotes
Captaincy is ninety percent luck and ten percent skill There were congratulations and high sixes all round Laird has been brought in to stand in the corner of the circle And it's time for a glass of something chilled
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Preceded by: Ian Craig |
Australian Test cricket captains 1958/9 |
Succeeded by: Bob Simpson |
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