Famous Cricketers No 100 - Richie Benaud

Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 1. New South Wales v Queensland, Sydney, December (31), January 1, 3, 4 (New South Wales won by ten wickets) (6) lbw b L.J.Johnson 2 180 202 did not bat - 143-0 120 SEASON’S AVERAGES Batting and Fielding M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Sheffield Shield 1 1 0 2 2 2.00 - - - 1949/50 Benaud started the season as twelfth man and was again named in the New South Wales Second XI to play Victoria. In this match, he was dismissed for a duck by Jack Hill, later a team-mate on the 1953 Ashes tour, but put on 32 with Ron James in the second innings to guide his team to victory. His recall into the New South Wales XI coincided with the debut of Alan Davidson, the start of a prodigious partnership that saw them become the backbone of Australia’s bowling for half a decade, firm friends and practice partners. Benaud’s reprieve was at the expense of Keith Miller, who received a belated call-up to the Australian team in South Africa after having initially been a controversial omission. Of all the older players who influenced Benaud, none was more important than Miller. Benaud hero-worshipped him and modelled himself on the great all-rounder, especially his batting technique and attacking style of leadership. Benaud rates Miller as the best skipper he ever had, and the greatest captain never to lead Australia. “People talk about flair, say I had flair” he later reflected. “Well, that was something I got from Miller” The winning culture of these New South Wales teams was an important factor in Benaud’s rise to success. If winning is indeed a habit, then it is a habit that Benaud picked up in these star-studded teams. In this season his state easily won the Shield, recording only a single loss all year. Benaud’s own statistics for this season reveal little of the greatness to come, either with the bat or ball. Despite batting mainly at number six, Benaud made single-figure scores in four of his nine innings and placed 26th in batting averages, mainly on the strength of his 93 against South Australia and his 68 against Victoria, where he combined with Jim Burke to add 138 for the fifth wicket. His bowling was very much secondary at this stage and he often bowled only a couple of overs. He took only 5 wickets for the season and his bowling average ranked 35th out of the 40 bowlers to take a wicket. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 2. South Australia v New South Wales, Adelaide, December 16, 17, 19, 20 (Match drawn) (6) lbw b K.I.O’Neill 10 463 6 0 21 0 181 did not bat - 60-2 24 3 76 1 L.D.Duldig c R.V.James 450-9d 3. New South Wales v Victoria, Melbourne, December 24, 26, 27, 28 (Victoria won by five wickets) (6) c E.A.D.Kerr b J.C.Hill 68 360 20 0 71 2 K.D.Meuleman c R.V.James 353 R Howard lbw (6) lbw b E.A.D.Kerr 5 123 3 0 18 0 132-5 4. New South Wales v Queensland, Sydney, December 30, 31 January 2, 3 (New South Wales won by one wicket) (6) b C.R.Smith 30 251 10 0 48 0 231 2 (6) c V.N.Raymer b.L.J.Johnson 17 208-9 3 0 13 1 W.A.Brown c J.W Burke 227 5. New South Wales v South Australia, Sydney, January 13, 14, 16 (New South Wales won by an innings and 41 runs) (7) c A.R.C.McLean b.T.E.Klose 93 346 - - - - 94 3 0 23 1 G.A.Black b 211 15