Famous Cricketers No 100 - Richie Benaud

of deliveries, but he had one of those rare days when everything goes right. English correspondent E.M Wellings wrote that only Peter Parfitt batted with any distinction and “the other batting was too bad to discuss”. It appeared England’s top order would again be vulnerable to top-class spin, but Benaud was past his best as a bowler by this stage, the shoulder injury still limiting his repertoire. The first Test proved a batting feast, but neither side could force a result. In Melbourne, a classic century from the Rev. David Sheppard saw England take a 1-0 series lead in a match Benaud rated as one of the most exciting in which he had been involved. Then, in Sydney, Australia squared the ledger after an inspired burst by Alan Davidson triggered an England collapse in the second innings. Benaud took only two wickets for the match, but it was enough to break Ray Lindwall’s record for most Test wickets by an Australian. Fittingly, Colin Cowdrey was the victim. Benaud dismissed Cowdrey more times than any other batsman, often exploiting his weakness, a lack of footwork. Benaud often bowled to Cowdrey with a leg slip in place. The fourth Test was another draw and the series tapered off in a tepid non-result in the final Test in Sydney, the crowd venting their displeasure at Lawry’s stonewalling as Benaud instructed his team to close out the game. Benaud admitted the Sydney finale was a disappointment, but refused to offer excuses, saying “Players take credit for good cricket matches and I have never been interested in dodging the blame for the bad ones. The twenty-two players in the match were the main culprits”. Alan Ross made the perceptive observation that “What irked most people was simply Benaud’s realism. They would have preferred at least some gesture towards a decision, remote though it might have been. Benaud is not one for gestures of that kind.” In fact, there has been a strong element of pragmatism in all of Benaud’s observations on the changing game. To those who decry one-dayers as a philistine bastardisation of the sport, he counters that without the profits generated from the shortened format, traditional and vitally important competitions like State cricket and junior development cricket would simply die out. The Sydney non-result meant the Ashes were retained and also signalled the end of an era, with both Neil Harvey and Alan Davidson retiring. For Benaud, it also seemed that the end of his Test days was in sight. His batting remained strong, but his bowling average for the Test series was over forty, the most expensive he had been since the 1956 Ashes tour. A changing of the guard also occurred at Shield level, where New South Wales failed to win the competition for the first time in a decade. Benaud also played for the International Cavaliers team, which was organised by good friend and fellow journalist Ron Roberts. The team toured South Africa to much success, their only loss coming against Transvaal when Peter Carlstein hit a double century and Eddie Barlow a ton. This tour also represented the first time Benaud had played under the front-foot no-ball rule, which he has persistently opposed ever since. He later described how the new interpretation “proved to be the bane of my life, so much so that after fifteen years bowling in first-class cricket, I was forced to develop a new run to the wicket, a new action and a new delivery stride…This threw my bowling into complete chaos”. He did however accomplish his best first-class bowling performance in taking 7-18 against the MCC. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 226. New South Wales v Queensland, Brisbane, October 26, 27, 29, 30 (Match drawn) * (7) b J.R.E.Mackay 0 432 43 10 103 3 P.J.P.Burge c G.Thomas 399 1 A.T.W.Grout b B.Fisher c D.A.Ford 10 3 23 2 S.C.Trimble lbw 232-5 T.R.Veivers c A.K.Davidson 227. New South Wales v Western Australia, Sydney, November 2, 3, 5, 6 (New South Wales won by 159 runs) * did not bat - 369-7d 18 4 52 1 K.B.Gartrell lbw 262 1 (7) not out 21 321-5d 12 4 35 2 P.W.Wishart c R.B.Simpson 269 1 K.N.Slater c J.W.Martin 228. New South Wales v MCC, Sydney, November 16, 17, 19 (New South Wales won by an innings and 80 runs) * (8) not out 40 532-6d 25 9 61 3 P.H.Parfitt b 348 1 R.Illingworth c G.Thomas A.C.Smith c R.B.Simpson 58