Famous Cricketers No 100 - Richie Benaud

than the result was the legacy this tour created. For cricket fans the world over, it remains a touchstone for high-wire closeness, thrilling strokeplay and exemplary sportsmanship. Coming at any time, it would have been hailed as a great series but it was vitally important at the end of the fifties, when Test cricket was at a low. Public interest and attendance figures had declined as slow over rates, lifeless draws and terminally dull play combined to obscure the game’s great charms. The tour got off to an unspectacular start, with the West Indians struggling against the State sides. Meanwhile, Benaud was struggling to overcome a finger injury he had sustained in Rhodesia. Despite a pre-tour dictum from the chairman of selectors, Don Bradman, that those playing attractive cricket would be looked upon favourably at the selection table, nobody could have predicted the wonders of the first Test in Brisbane. Australia went into the last day chasing 232 after a eight-wicket haul from Davidson kept the West Indies to a reasonable total. At lunch, the home side were reeling at 6/95 with Davidson and Benaud at the crease. Bradman approached Benaud in the dressing room as the skipper drunk his tea. “Are you going for the win ?” Bradman asked. “Of course” Benaud said. “ I’m very happy to hear it”, came the reply. What followed is, as they say, history. It was also calamity, with the Australians losing three wickets, including Benaud in a madcap final over, Joe Solomon’s pinpoint throw to run out Lindsay Kline eventually ensuring the first ever tie at Test level. The remaining Tests were only slightly less eventful, particularly the Adelaide Test where a gutsy and improbable last-wicket stand between ‘Slasher’ Mackay and notorious ‘bunny’ Lindsay Kline saw Australia hang on for a nail-biting draw. Team-mates remember Benaud, usually a light smoker, puffing non-stop as the Test reached its gripping conclusion. The Melbourne Test also saw a most unusual dismissal when Joe Solomon’s cap fell and hit his wicket. The Australians appealed and Solomon was given out. The decision was technically correct (the laws specifically state that a batsman is out if his cap dislodges a bail), but it angered the bumper crowd, who had warmed to the flamboyant underdogs. Benaud was jeered whenever he went near the ball for the rest of the day. He later noted drily “There were 70,000 there and a good 11 or 12 who didn’t boo me”. An interesting postscript to the season proper was the Prime Minister’s XI fixture at Manuka Oval, Canberra. Prime Minister Menzies chose Benaud, along with four other current Test players for his team, which was led by Ray Lindwall. Some friendly bowling in the closing overs allowed the visitors to manufacture a suitably whimsical conclusion to the summer – another tie. Benaud’s wickets this season were more expensive than before and he was arguably a little past his peak as a player during this series, but it is doubtful whether anyone else could have led the side with such expertise. Benaud never protected the boundaries, as Worrell did on occasion, but maintained attacking fields. He gave the West Indians enough rope and gambled correctly that the flamboyance of the Caribbean batting would, at times, spill over into a recklessness that an attacking field could capitalise on. The West Indians had planned to attack Benaud in the early games through Worrell and Sobers, and while both played beautifully throughout the summer, they were not ultimately able to land the comprehensive psychological blow against the Australian captain that they had sought. The only real criticism of Benaud’s captaincy this summer was a feeling in some quarters that he over-bowled himself, or was too reliant on Alan Davidson. But Benaud’s astute handling of Davidson was one of his best moves as captain. The broad-shouldered all-rounder suffered many injuries, some more real than others, but always soldiered on for his captain. It was not unusual to see Benaud taking off Davidson’s jumper, walking back with him to the mark and coaxing one last effort from Davidson (“Just one more over, Al pal”). Davidson always delivered. The workload shouldered by this pair was vital; they were by far and away Australia’s most dangerous bowlers in this period – Davidson took 33 wickets for this series, Benaud 23. The next best Australian, Frank Misson, took just nine. Thousands lined the streets of Melbourne to say farewell and thank the West Indians and a perpetual trophy for Australia/West Indies Tests was named in Worrell’s honour. In a ceremony to mark the end of the series, Worrell presented Benaud with his cap, his tie and blazer which he said represented his scalp, his neck and his body. He joked that he wouldn’t give Benaud his legs as they were old and wouldn’t be of much use. Benaud accepted the tokens and, ever the statesman, replied “I may 49