Saturday 11 April 2015 11:25, UK
Australia great Shane Warne says Richie Benaud was the most influential man in world cricket.
Benaud, who has died at the age of 84, was a pioneering captain of Australia, an outstanding leg-spinner, one of the driving forces behind World Series Cricket in the 1970s, and one of the finest and most popular broadcasters in any sport.
He was a big influence on Warne, helping the leg-spinner as an emerging youngster. Warne, who went on to take 708 Test wickets, and Benaud became firm friends, often working together in the commentary box.
His biggest tips to me, at 18 years of age, were to practice, spin the ball hard, have fun and be aggressive.
“It’s very hard to describe what he meant to the game of cricket,” Warne told Sky Sports News HQ. “I think he was bigger than the game of cricket. I heard Wally Edwards, the boss of Cricket Australia, say that after Donald Bradman he was the most influential player.
“Well I’d say Richie Benaud was more influential than Don Bradman. Bradman was, no argument, the best player that ever played the game of cricket.
“But Richie was more influential. Look at the way he revolutionised World Series Cricket. Look at the way he revolutionised aggressive captaincy. His bowling, his batting, the way he played the game. He had the buttons undone, he had the Brylcreem in the hair. He was just a wonderful cricketer.
“Then he turned into arguably one of the best sports broadcasters in any sport. Over 50 years he did it, in England, in Australia. We’ve got the Prime Minster, Dame Edna Everage, Kylie – but Richie was above all of them. He was an absolute gentleman too.
'Aggressive'
“I was privileged and honoured to call Richie a close friend. We shared many a dinner, many a chat about leg-spin bowling, grabbing apples and showing different grips and techniques.
“His biggest tips to me, at 18 years of age, were to practice, spin the ball hard, have fun and be aggressive.
“So for me, for someone like Richie Benaud to take that time out, to help me as an 18-year-old trying to ply my trade and getting smashed all over the place… it was really nice.
“I got to know him as a good friend over the next 30 years.
“It was great to join him in the commentary box. I watched the way he worked. We also talked a lot about leg-spin there, passing knowledge to young leg-spinners from around the world, from whatever country they may be from. I think that’s really important, to pass that knowledge on.
“I think the way we went about it, talking about leg-spin – that was his passion. His last Test in England, the Ashes Test in 2005, we all stopped and clapped him. Everything stood still, the whole crowd clapped him. He was not just Australian – he was a worldwide icon. An absolute legend.”
“His sense of humour, his timing, his one-liners – there will never be another Richie Benaud, there just won’t be. As a man, as a gentleman, what he did for the game of cricket, and as a commentator, as a broadcaster in sport - I don’t think there was any better.
“Back in Australia people will be sad, but they will also celebrate a wonderful life.”
