One look and I was floored. It was 1957 and the Australian cricket team, under the captaincy of Ian Johnson, was touring India. Among them was Richie Benaud, the tall, athletic, handsome leg-spinner and hard-hitting batsman. In his baggy green and white flannels, he epitomised a cricketer in my schoolboy eyes. I was destined to watch him again when he returned two years later, in 1959, this time as the captain of the Australian side, which had the likes of Colin Mcdonald, Les Favell, Norman O’ Neill, Peter Burge, Ken Mackay, Alan Davidson, Ian Meckiff, Gordon Rorke, Ray Lindwall on his final tour and my then-favourite batsman, Neil Harvey.
Benaud excelled as a bowler and a skipper with Australia winning the series comfortably but his dignified response after Australia’s first-ever loss to India in Kanpur (off-spinner Jasu Patel’s Test) gave one an idea about the man. Benaud gave due credit where it was due while not being critical of his team for failing against off-spin. So much so that he gave his Australian cap to the Indian captain GS Ramchand. A schoolboy’s fancies took further flight and I became a diehard fan.
He was to exemplify — not just to this schoolboy but to the entire cricket world — the ethos and essence of sportsmanship just a few months later when, at Brisbane, he and West Indian skipper Frank Worrell scripted the first Tied Test and then an exhilarating series in which the spirit of the game of cricket became distilled. A few years later, his captaincy came to the fore again as his bowling changes and sangfroid in the Test series in England was applauded everywhere.
19108 balls;
248 wickets.
Milestones |
63 Tests; 2201 runs (three centuries, nine 50s ) |
After retirement — and those days, players, particularly Australians tended to retire early — Benaud was headed to the commentary box. For the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and later for Channel Nine, he was the one whose commentary people never wanted to miss.
Benaud was the best TV commentator of all times and inspired me and many others who took to this demanding medium. In cricket commentary, television is far more difficult than radio for a person who knows the game, has a way with words and a felicity of expression. These three characteristics —essentials for success on radio — have the potential of making the commentator appear verbose and dilatory. In radio, one is required to make a picture through one’s words. On TV, the picture speaks for itself; what is required is the ability to embellish it. Benaud had this gift.
Despite being proficient in the language, having a felicity of expression, and a deep knowledge of the game, his restraint was exemplary. He spoke little, used the pause for drama and knew what to say that not just added to the picture but also conveyed knowledge about the stroke, delivery, strategy. His style of commentary, so different from those who had migrated to TV from radio, was indeed refreshing.
Many of us were hooked. While it is my misfortune that I never got to do a stint with him, I had the (mis)fortune of being described by him as: “and there goes an excited Indian commentator giving the glad news home”. This was what I saw in the highlights package in 1980 at Melbourne when the Sunil Gavaskar-led Indian side beat Greg Chappell’s Australian team. I was covering the series for All India Radio (AIR) and, in the excitement of an Indian win, stood up in the pavilion (there was no commentary box so we were in the stands) in my red pullover and jabbered away with the mike in hand. The camera caught the moment and Benaud provided the words.
Just listening to his description of the game, his choice and judicious use of words was an education. It is a pity that, today, many of us have fallen foul of his dictum — let the picture speak, embellish if you can. Benaud also had one other attribute; a sense of humour and always saw that, no matter what, cricket was still a game to be enjoyed.
His longevity in the commentator’s box was as much a testimony to his love for the game, the medium he enjoyed so much and the respect of his fans. No one deserved this more than Benaud. Although he lived in France for extended periods of time, he was always in demand.
Finally, skin cancer got the better of him but as he regales the gods in heaven with his wit, humour and expressions, he will know that he has left behind a legacy that will stand the test of time and that many a cricketer and TV commentator will learn from his commentary about how to describe a game. May his soul rest in peace.
Dr. Narottam Puri is a well-known ENT specialist, quizzer and cricket commentator.
