On Richie  Benaud

Very, very few cricketers have left behind the kind of all-round legacy that Richie Benaud did. Everything about him was handsome: looks, physique, appearance, gait, mannerisms, voice and demeanour. The man just could not do anything that was inelegant or incongruous.

French revolutionary blood may not have flowed in his veins. But French inheritance he possessed as his surname distinctly reveals. And he was a radical in the most meaningful way: introduced unique innovations into cricket, a passion which ultimately became his profession.

His casual style reflected vibrancy and vivacity. His exuberance rubbed off on others. Women gaped at him while men tried to imitate. His distinctive style was reminiscent of the man he revered: Keith Ross Miller. Benaud followed Miller from playing cricket to cricket journalism and authorship to cricket broadcast.

If Miller was totally anti-establishment, Benaud was both pro and anti depending upon the issue concerned. While the fighter-pilot (2^nd world war veteran) in Keith Miller had little time for discussions and debates, Richie Benaud, a post-war journalist, had enough time at hand to be patient and pragmatic.

Benaud brought all his knowledge and skills to enlighten the cricket world for nearly six decades. His influence on modern cricket has had no parallel. If Grace, Ranji, Fry and Bosanquet were the early influences on the game, and Bradman was among the chief advocate of the changing trends, then contemporary cricket’s major influence has been the man from New South Wales, Richie Benaud.

Richie Benaud was among the premier all-rounders of the cricket world in the late 1950s and early 1960s. His peers happened to be Garfield Sobers and Alan Davidson. But Benaud influence on the game went far beyond the cricket ground. He was on a pedestal of his own making, way above the rest.

 He was a prolific writer on the game, whether it was authorship of books or articles for journals and newspapers. His ideas would always be well-considered and strongly-opinionated. There was nothing vague or secretive about his prose. He wrote from the heart and so was spontaneous. He would willingly stick his neck out and be counted. He knew not sycophancy, nor flattery.

Benaud’s impeccable quality was that he took issue by issue. If he criticized someone one day on an issue, he would be ready to praise the same man on another issue when the person deserved it. This unbiased approach of his made him a most sought after author and critic.

Later Benaud came into radio broadcast. Here he was at his best. Millions around the world would tune in to BBC just to listen to his rendition. He became “the Voice of Cricket”. No bias ever crossed those lips of his. The listeners were conveyed the relevant parts of the history of cricket and its laws without a moment’s hesitation. His tone and tenor; diction and delivery were unmatched. Even the legendary John Arlott would surely agree.

When television arrived, the first person as commentator the channels wanted was the one and only Richie Benaud. He came and conquered the new medium with ease. Now the challenge was different. For radio broadcast, the commentator had to draw the picture for the listeners’ benefit.Now the viewer could himself see the action.

 Immediately Benaud changed his style. So long he would be a constant conveyor over the radio. Now he would only need to add to the picture. Again he was in his elements. He added subtle touches. Never insulted the viewer by mentioning exactly what he (the viewer) had just seen. He mentioned only the finer points. Perhaps some past similar incidents; or a little of the laws to substantiate the picture; may be a hilarious anecdote or two.

Born in 1930, the Depression Years made him all the more determined. He was an Aussie by birth and spirit. His father had once taken 20 wickets in a grade match, but young Richie was not content to sit and dawdle over that. He cut his own mark. By 21, he was wearing the ‘baggy green’.

 His initial years in international cricket did not set the Sydney Harbour on fire. He was not consistent enough although he had given glimpses of his outstanding all-round credentials. At Scarborough, he had hit 11 sixes and 9 fours in making 135. He had scalped wickets regularly. He had fielded brilliantly, including a magnificent catch at gully to dismiss Colin Cowdrey at Old Trafford.

Any young cricketer would have been happy with this kind of progress. But not Benaud. His performance against West Indies, England and India in his early years was not entirely to his satisfaction in terms of runs and wickets. He was actually a maniac when it came to practice. He would just go on and on. He knew no respite, no relaxation. He had no time for socializing. Such a positive approach could not go unrewarded. By the time he finished the tour of South Africa in 1957-58, the name of Richie Benaud reverberated around the cricketing world. Whether batting or bowling he showed the world that he was among the prime all-rounders.

Around this period Australian cricket was going through a crisis. Bradman’s days as captain were over. Lindsay Hasset was the obvious choice as the next captain. He was followed by Ian Johnson and then Ian Craig. None could bring back the lost laurels of the Bradman era. When Benaud blossomed as an all-rounder of outstanding merit in South Africa, the Aussie selectors wasted no time to elevate him to the leadership.

Immediately Benaud was in his elements. He had shown his flair for captaincy ever since he took over the leadership of his state side, New South Wales. He was a natural leader of men. He proved it very convincingly by defeating a very strong England team under Peter May 4-0 in 1958-59. Within a year his team recorded overwhelming victories away from home over India and Pakistan.

 In 1960-61, in collaboration with Frank Worrell, Benaud produced a series that would go down in the history of Test cricket as the greatest series ever. Both West Indies and Australia dueled as if there was no morrow. They battled eye-lid to eye-lid. No quarter was given, none asked for. Both the teams were epitome of sportsmanship. They transformed cricket as no series had done before or since.

Richie Benaud’s credentials as among the greatest of all Test captains were enshrined forever. The following series in England was won in splendid style with a magnificent victory at Manchester, where England cruising at 150 for 1, collapsed to 201 all out. The brilliant strategist Benaud took 6 for 70, bowling round the wicket on the rough and having the strong England batters in complete disarray.

Frank to a fault, he abhorred hypocrisy. When Aussie umpire Col Egar “called” Ian Meckiff for throwing, the Australian captain was Richie Benaud. The incident occurred at Brisbane in 1963-64 against South Africa. Like a true sportsman, Benaud did not dispute the umpire’s decision. On the contrary he sided with Sir Don and saw to it that ‘throw bowling’ never recurred in Australia. Today when almost every nation encourages the presence of throw bowlers in its arsenal, ironically the most dominant cricketing nation, Australia, does not depend on such underhand tactics. This change came about because of Bradman and Benaud.

Being a natural athlete, the six feet two elegant frame was a magnificent fielder anywhere, especially so at gully from where he marshaled his forces. The picture of the ‘Cowdrey catch’ at Old Trafford is still to be seen in the cricket museums around the world.

Benaud spent hours practicing the difficult art of wrist spin. His wide repertoire included two varieties of leg spin, top spin and googly. He developed a unique in-dipper where he used the seam to make the leg-spinning ball dip in to the right-hander. At Eden in 1959-60, Pankaj Roy was trapped leg-before-wicket with a similar delivery.

He had a flipper, too, which he used sparingly. But his prime ability was to extract bounce and to trap the batter with his curving, deceptive flight. He was a master strategist and would crowd the batter with close-in fielders at the slightest opportunity.

With the bat in hand he was a typical Australian. Never thought of the ‘willow’ as an implement of defence. He used it to give vent to his aggressive intent. Very strong on the drive, he would lift the ball with power and grace. Once at Eden he hit Bapu Nadkarni for three straight sixes over the sight-screen while playing for Swanton’s XI. Like all Australians he was extremely strong on the cut and the pull, but his front-foot driving was a connoisseur’s delight. He relished stepping out of the crease and taking the fight to the opposition.

In times of need, however, he would shift gears. The handsome face would display a grim exterior. He would go behind the ball and play it down as he did so emphatically against the likes of Wesley Hall and Gary Sobers, Freddie Trueman and Brian Statham, Neil Adcock and Peter Heine.

For sheer cricketing wisdom and the courage to reveal the truth, Richie Benaud has had very, very equals. In the contemporary cricket scenario, Benaud has left behind his imprint in no uncertain manner. In modern cricket most of the innovations can be traced back to the Packer era. Kerry Packer’s main advisor was none other than Benaud.

Most of the innovations that we see today, especially in the ODIs and T20s, have their roots in the cricketing mind of Richie Benaud. Benaud’s contribution to cricket will be enshrined in the annals of cricket forever.