OTD: Richie Benaud was born in 1930

Legendary Australian all-rounder Richie Benaud was born on this day, October 6, in 1930, in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. Considered to be one of the best leg-spinners and all-rounders, Benaud is known for his brilliant captaincy of the Australian team and his media career afterwards.

Benaud started playing first-class cricket at the age of 18. He first featured in Tests in 1951. Benaud had a reputation as a superb leg-spin bowler, as well as an adept batter and fielder. 

He helped Australia regain their supremacy in world cricket after a slump in the 1950s as their captain from 1958 to 1964. He made his Test debut for Australia in the 1951-52 series against the West Indies in the Sydney game.

Benaud soon established himself as one of the leading spinners in the world and then wowed with his acumen as Australia’s captain.
He had hit one of the fastest Test centuries in 78 minutes against the West Indies in 1955, while he excelled as a bowler, taking 31 wickets in Australia’s 4-0 sweep of England in the 1958 Ashes. Benaud was selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1962.

In 1963, Benaud became the first player in the history of cricket to achieve the Test match double of 2,000 runs and 200 wickets. He called time on his career in 1964. 

Benaud took 248 wickets at an average of 27.03 in 63 Tests, including 16 five-wicket hauls and one ten-wicket haul, with the best bowling figures of 7/72. He also made 2201 runs at an average of 24.45, including three centuries and nine fifties, with the highest score of 122.

After retirement, Benaud turned to commentary and media works. He worked for BBC in the UK and Channel 4 and Channel 9 in Australia. Overall, he played in or commentated on approximately 500 Test matches. Benaud was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame during the Allan Border Medal award ceremony in 2007 and the International Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.

He had criticised the Chappell brothers for the underarm bowling incident in an Australia vs New Zealand ODI. He was a guru for Shane Warne and commented on Warne’s ball of the century in the 1993 Ashes. He was also the voice of Kerry Packer’s World Series of Cricket.

He retired from commentary duties in 2013 and in 2014 announced that he had been diagnosed with skin cancer and died in his sleep on April 10, 2015.

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