Famous Cricketers No 100 - Richie Benaud

his school was unable to display the spoils of victory as the previous title holders, Sydney High School, had lost the trophy! After leaving school, Benaud was employed as a clerk and later moved to Sydney newspaper The Sun , where his employer was a cricket fan and thus understanding of the demands that practice and Shield matches put on a young player’s time. On the cricket field, he quickly progressed through the ranks of Central Cumberland Club, making the club’s first century in The A.W Green Shield, a competition for juniors. Cumberland was a famous club which had been home to Test players such notable players as the Waddy brothers, Gerry Hazlitt, Frank Iredale and Bill Howell. The club had a culture of supporting younger players and senior figures such as Benaud’s first captain, Alf Hall, would take young recruits ‘under their wings’ and offer them valuable guidance. The old Cumberland Oval where Richie played his first grade cricket has now been replaced by a football stadium, though he does have an oval named after him in nearby North Parramatta. Cricket in their blood - the Benaud family Richie’s father Lou had a major influence on his son’s career. Lou was no mean cricketer himself, having once taken all twenty wickets, including a hat-trick, for Penrith against St.Mary’s in 1922/23. He was a leg-spinner and a capable batsman who loved the game, its characters and traditions. Many felt he could have gone on to play state cricket had he not been posted in rural locations in his job as a school teacher. Certainly his first-grade figures make for interesting reading, being comparable to the figures achieved by Richie. He once bowled Alan Kippax with one of his leg-breaks in a match against Kippax’s regional touring side. The elegant Australian batsman was so impressed that he promised to find Lou a club if he came down to Sydney to play grade cricket. Unfortunately, Lou’s employer, the Department of Education, blocked such a move. Nor would they let him attend talent quests in the city that had sent invitations after hearing of his achievements. When he finally did receive a posting in Sydney he was 34, but was still good enough to walk straight into a strong Cumberland first-grade side at a stage when State and even National players regularly turned out in grade fixtures. Like his sons, he was also interested in writing, penning a memoir The Kid from Coraki , a cricket instruction book and some texts for teachers. The latter will be no surprise to anyone taught by Lou as Richie recalls that many people have approached him over the years to tell him his father was the best teacher they ever had. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment, however, was teaching his sons Richie and John, not just how to bowl a leg-break or play an off-drive, but how to play attacking cricket, how to be committed to improving one’s skills and how to maintain the game’s code of sportsmanship. Richie’s younger brother John was also a fine cricketer. He remembers Richie buying him his first bat on a trip to Adelaide, a Stan McCabe model. John went on to appear in 3 Tests for Australia and also captained New South Wales, receiving some good notices for his attacking nous and bold declarations. In 1969/70, his term as captain ended on a sour and somewhat bizarre note when he was sacked for wearing a type of shoe not approved by the New South Wales Cricket Association – the standard issue boots had given him blisters. John remembers Richie being very supportive throughout the ordeal. Many cricket observers have lamented the fact that his first-class career was not longer, though he did continue playing grade cricket well into his forties, captaining a lower-grade side at Penrith and guiding younger players. He also stayed involved in the game as a journalist, national selector and author – his book Matters of Choice makes for interesting reading, especially his stories of the Cumberland Club’s dedicated supporters. For such a public figure, Richie Benaud has largely been able to keep his private life out of the spotlight. His first wife was Marcia Lavender, who he worked with in an accountant’s office. They were engaged when Richie was 21 and married in January 1953. At his wedding ceremony, Richie’s only words “I do” came after he had removed a plaster from his mouth, a result of a John Waite shot 5