"The Voice of Australian Cricket" has died ...
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Chinagirl
- Posts: 3154
- Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:49 am
"The Voice of Australian Cricket" has died ...
[T]hose children were left alone and because of that fact one of them disappeared. (Fatima de Oliveira Esteves)
Wrong.
It's because someone took her.
Wrong.
It's because someone took her.
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Chinagirl
- Posts: 3154
- Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:49 am
Re: "The Voice of Australian Cricket" has died ...
Richie Benaud: the doyen of cricket commentary for English fans as well
By Marc Higginson, BBC Sport
Posted about an hour ago
Hollywood actor Russell Crowe recently told the BBC that everyone in Australia grows up wanting to beat England at everything.
It is not quite the same here in Blighty, but when it comes to cricket the gloves are off.
The Ashes are prized above all else and there is an in-built competitive edge to these wonderful contests.
We English quite like a pantomime villain.
It is hard to resist giving battle-hardened Aussies like Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath a bit of stick every now and again.
We admired them, we wished they played for us ... those men were giants of the game but that did not mean we would have them round for afternoon tea.
Yet there is one Australian we have invited into our living rooms for decades. In fact, we will miss him more than most now he is gone — Richie Benaud.
The silver-haired, smooth-talking Benaud was not only the doyen of cricket commentary and the face of our summer, he was also regarded as one of the most respected sports commentators of all time.
Video: Richie Benaud's final minutes commentating in England, at The Oval in 2005
In short, we loved your Richie. Or was he our Richie?
You had him in our winter and he came over for our summer. A fair deal, I suppose.
Cricket buffs knew he was a damn fine player and captain in his day.
We have grown up listening to tales of his high elbow and stylish batting, his pioneering leg spin and his inventive captaincy.
But there are also generations of discerning cricket and general sports fans who know Benaud primarily for his work behind the microphone.
No summer's day could begin properly until you had heard his trademark opening to any day's play: "Morning everyone".
No frills, yet warm in its delivery.
Cricket Icon: Richie Benaud 1930 - 2015
Benaud knew when to stay silent and let the pictures speak for themselves and was comfortable enough in his abilities as a broadcaster to stick to the simple adjectives like "marvellous", while his ability to articulately analyse any given situation gave thousands, if not millions, of youngsters — myself included — the knowledge base to build their love for the game.
Almost like the grandad you never met.
So what if he was Australian and his compatriots were trouncing us every time we met?
It was our very own BBC who put him on a training course in the '50s and his eventual path to sports commentary immortality. We have all been grateful ever since.
Benaud's longevity underlined his popularity and he bowed out in England after 42 years when live broadcasting rights moved from Channel 4 to the subscription-based Sky Sports.
As a result, play came to a near-standstill as a capacity crowd at The Oval stood to applaud Benaud's final commentary stint on the final day of the 2005 Ashes.
He was one of our own. Always welcome in our living room and the voice of our summer.
He will be sorely missed.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-10/r ... nd/6314400
By Marc Higginson, BBC Sport
Posted about an hour ago
Hollywood actor Russell Crowe recently told the BBC that everyone in Australia grows up wanting to beat England at everything.
It is not quite the same here in Blighty, but when it comes to cricket the gloves are off.
The Ashes are prized above all else and there is an in-built competitive edge to these wonderful contests.
We English quite like a pantomime villain.
It is hard to resist giving battle-hardened Aussies like Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath a bit of stick every now and again.
We admired them, we wished they played for us ... those men were giants of the game but that did not mean we would have them round for afternoon tea.
Yet there is one Australian we have invited into our living rooms for decades. In fact, we will miss him more than most now he is gone — Richie Benaud.
The silver-haired, smooth-talking Benaud was not only the doyen of cricket commentary and the face of our summer, he was also regarded as one of the most respected sports commentators of all time.
Video: Richie Benaud's final minutes commentating in England, at The Oval in 2005
In short, we loved your Richie. Or was he our Richie?
You had him in our winter and he came over for our summer. A fair deal, I suppose.
Cricket buffs knew he was a damn fine player and captain in his day.
We have grown up listening to tales of his high elbow and stylish batting, his pioneering leg spin and his inventive captaincy.
But there are also generations of discerning cricket and general sports fans who know Benaud primarily for his work behind the microphone.
No summer's day could begin properly until you had heard his trademark opening to any day's play: "Morning everyone".
No frills, yet warm in its delivery.
Cricket Icon: Richie Benaud 1930 - 2015
Benaud knew when to stay silent and let the pictures speak for themselves and was comfortable enough in his abilities as a broadcaster to stick to the simple adjectives like "marvellous", while his ability to articulately analyse any given situation gave thousands, if not millions, of youngsters — myself included — the knowledge base to build their love for the game.
Almost like the grandad you never met.
So what if he was Australian and his compatriots were trouncing us every time we met?
It was our very own BBC who put him on a training course in the '50s and his eventual path to sports commentary immortality. We have all been grateful ever since.
Benaud's longevity underlined his popularity and he bowed out in England after 42 years when live broadcasting rights moved from Channel 4 to the subscription-based Sky Sports.
As a result, play came to a near-standstill as a capacity crowd at The Oval stood to applaud Benaud's final commentary stint on the final day of the 2005 Ashes.
He was one of our own. Always welcome in our living room and the voice of our summer.
He will be sorely missed.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-10/r ... nd/6314400
[T]hose children were left alone and because of that fact one of them disappeared. (Fatima de Oliveira Esteves)
Wrong.
It's because someone took her.
Wrong.
It's because someone took her.
-
honestbroker1
- Posts: 8881
- Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 8:50 pm
Re: "The Voice of Australian Cricket" has died ...
Desperately sad.
Distinguished player and very fine commentator.
Distinguished player and very fine commentator.
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Chinagirl
- Posts: 3154
- Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:49 am
Re: "The Voice of Australian Cricket" has died ...
Indeed, HB.
[T]hose children were left alone and because of that fact one of them disappeared. (Fatima de Oliveira Esteves)
Wrong.
It's because someone took her.
Wrong.
It's because someone took her.
-
honestbroker1
- Posts: 8881
- Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 8:50 pm
Re: "The Voice of Australian Cricket" has died ...
A minor quibble with your header, CG.
I wouldn't say RB was the voice of "Australian" cricket.
I would say he was The Voice of Cricket ...
I wouldn't say RB was the voice of "Australian" cricket.
I would say he was The Voice of Cricket ...