RIP Richie Benaud

The voice of cricket, a gentlemen and a broadcaster of great dignity and talent. Reports saying he has passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 84. I'm too young to have enjoyed his career but I know you guys will have your words. To me, cricket is in his voice.

RIP Richie, you left a quite incomparable mark

Although not too surprised, I am dreadfully sorry to hear this news.

I met Richie Benaud once briefly at Lord's some years ago. An absolute gentleman and an honour to do so.

Growing up listening to his commentaries and analysis from almost half a century ago, I learned so much about our game from this wonderful man.

He was undoubtedly a great of his era but his shrewd brain would have ensured that he was a great of any time.

I am so grateful he was with us but so saddened by his passing.

Was/Is he the BEST in any sport?
Can't think of anyone better.
Shocked as hadn't realised that he was that sick.
Hate it when men or women of such quality leave us.
PS: He would have hated to miss the Grand National and the denouement of The Masters.
First time is timing let him down.

Terribly sad news. RIP

Very saddened to hear this. He hadn't been in great health for a while but it still comes as a bit of a shock.

Watched him play in the 50s and even as a kid I admired his style ... which he carried into his later illustrious career as a commentator ; and he was more than that , really.

Truly a great man of the game. RIP.

Very sad news.

He was very sick in the last couple of years since the car accident and the onset of skin cancer.
I was (perhaps unrealistically) hoping he might grace our screens one last time but alas he was physically unable to do so.
He did make that "summer preview of cricket" late last year though.

Not only was he a great captain and a shrewd strategist on the field but he was fairly handy with the bat as well when quick runs were needed. Quite a graceful player with great hands.

We will miss him dearly. RIP Richie.

The word "great" is occasionally overused, but Richie Benaud undoubtedly qualified as a great of the game.

Kwini asks the question as to whether he was the best commentator/broadcaster across all sports and whilst it's an impossible question to answer I too struggle to think of anybody I'd rather listen to. Simply put he knew the value of speech - 'If you can't add to the picture, then keep your mouth shut'

I was fortunate enough to meet him on one occasion, and indeed discuss some coaching points about leg-spin bowling with him. He was articulate, insightful and incredibly humble, always insisting that his ideas were just that - ideas to consider, and not to be taken as gospel. It was a tremendous honour, and feels doubly so now.

A very sad day for sport. RIP.

RIP Ritchie

A true legend of the game, a fantastic player by all accounts and my favourite commentator of all time

Actually had no idea how serious it was. I mean I I knew he was very ill, and that's never a good signs once the years start advancing, but I didn't really allow myself to go "there" mentally. All Time Great, and a fantastic commentator. Will miss the beige jacket.

RIP
Bernaud

RIP Thanks for the memories.

RIP mate

Crickets finest.

Very sad news. His excellence as a commentator should not mask his brilliance as a player.
  Richie was responsible for one of the worst afternoons of my, then, young life. It was the last day of the 1961 Manchester Test. England needing 256 to win were walking it at 150 for one, with Ted Dexter going strong.
  Realising he could no longer draw the game, Richie decided he would have to try to win it. He went round the wicket, bowled into the footmarks, got Dexter, bowled Peter May for a duck, took 6-70, won the match and left me brokenhearted.
   A very fine man.

In my life and sporting career there have been two voices which I have learnt more from and would stop and listen to them. Bill McLaren in rugby and Richie Benaud in cricket.

Richie Benaud was a tremendous player and commentator, never had the privilege of meeting the man but have met others who have and they could not speak highly enough of him.

Sad day in the cricketing world, RIP Richie.

Probably my favourite ever commentator from any sport. Cool, witty, insightful, interesting, impartial and didn't over-do it, either - he knew when the action spoke for itself. Just brilliant.

A gentleman too by all accounts. When I was a teenager I remember thinking how cool it'd have been to have him as a granddad or something. Made such an impact in his TV work that you almost forget he was a brilliant player and highly-regarded captain on top of all that.

Rest In Peace.

Sir Fred - that's a lovely tribute. I was just too young to see Richie Benaud play but your post further illustrates not only what a magnificent cricketer he was but how wonderfully astute was his reading of the game. I am convinced that his captaincy would have shone even more brightly if he had had the opportunity to play limited overs cricket.

Farewell to a man who achieved brilliance as a player, as a captain and as a commentator. RIP a true cricket legend.

Really not much to add - Benaud seems to have been one of those rare people who no-one has a bad word for. Obviously an outstanding player and captain of his era, and then surpassed that in being one of the finest sporting commentators ever and from the sounds of things a true gentleman.

Wonderfully soothing voice who was missed badly when cricket departed to the Murdoch empire. Another wee piece of my childhood gone.

RIP Richie. And thank you.

R.I.P.

A true great of the game.

R.I.P.

Not much to add to what's already been said. A great player, and an even greater commentator, possibly the greatest ever. By all accounts, a great person. Mike touched upon his meeting with him, there's a youtube video of him giving some leg-spin tips to a young Frenchman somewhere (Mike?), always humble, never stating that what he said should be taken as gospel, just "something to think about".

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/apr/10/richie-benauds-best-quotes

Some of his quotes. I particularly like “The key thing was to learn the value of economy with words and to never insult the viewer by telling them what they can already see” when he talks about commentary, which is of course what made him such a great commentator. He only spoke if what he was about to say would add something to the conversation. The quality of TV commentary teams has become a recent bug-bear of mine, and I can't help but think some would be well-served by "thinking about" what Richie said...

MfC - thanks for the link to the quotes.

I've known and liked for a long time the one about captaincy. However, it was another that particularly caught me eye today.

On his relationship with the audience:
''What I want most from being a television commentator is to be able to feel that, when I say something, I am talking to friends.''
He always was.

G'bat. Thanks for your kind words. Another thing to be said about Richie the player is the fact that he, with Frank Worrell, managed to produce one of the greatest Test series of all time - the A v WI 60-61 series which included the Brisbane tied Test.
  Daily Mail are today running a picture of the victorious Aussies, led by Richie, coming off at Old Trafford after that amazing finish in 1961. Alan Davidson, Bobby Simpson, Bill Lawry, Neil Harvey the young Graham McKenzie, Slasher Mackay. Ah.

Such sad news. The fact that it was widely known how ill he was, yet so few of us were willing to think of the implications until now probably shows how loved he was.

On a personal note I will always remember my dad stating that he was the one commentator that my sister would pipe down and listen to in the car despite her indifference (at best) to our great game! He had that rare ability to effortlessly engage and educate anyone, cricket fans or bystanders alike, due to his affability, eloquence, intelligence and sheer infectious love of the game.

As a player the stats speak for themselves and yet they only tell half the story:

Test bowling - 248 wickets, average 27.03, 16 5 wicket hauls, 1 10 wicket haul
Test batting - 2201 runs, 3 centuries, 9 half-centuries, average 24.45

First class bowling - 945 wicket, average 24.73, 56 5 wicket hauls, 9 10 wicket hauls
First class batting - 11719 runs, 23 centuries, 61 half-centuries, average 36.50

No test series lost as captain with 5 won and 2 drawn.

RIP Richie and thanks for the memories.

Mad for Chelsea wrote:there's a youtube video of him giving some leg-spin tips to a young Frenchman somewhere (Mike?), always humble, never stating that what he said should be taken as gospel, just "something to think about".

Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYiA2OJiCpw

Also, here is an interview he gave for France Cricket, of which he was patron.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmeyBAByph3Is9NW_4OXeiYi1YQ8EKfas

may he RIP

Mike Selig wrote:

Mad for Chelsea wrote:there's a youtube video of him giving some leg-spin tips to a young Frenchman somewhere (Mike?), always humble, never stating that what he said should be taken as gospel, just "something to think about".

Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYiA2OJiCpw

Also, here is an interview he gave for France Cricket, of which he was patron.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmeyBAByph3Is9NW_4OXeiYi1YQ8EKfas

Mike - I thought of this last night but didn't know where to look.

My own meeting with Richie Benaud was hardly more than a handshake and a ''hello'' but was still enormously important to me. I trust your young leggie will always appreciate this far more significant session.

Good that the great man made you feel so relaxed you didn't feel the need to take your hands out of your pockets!

Richie Benaud took time out from commentary duty during an Old Trafford Test in the 80's to come and open my club's pavilion. By all accounts he was an absolute gentleman and top bloke. And he provided the commentary on probably the best moment of cricket I will ever see in my lifetime, and he did it in his typically understated and brilliant way.

'Jones! Bowden!'

RIP Richie.  As well as the many attributes highlighted above he had such a wonderfully soothing voice and dry humour.