A bit on Richie Benaud, then, on his 90th birth anniversary.

First, the cricketing bits.

When he finished his career, Benaud had the most wickets for Australia.

He held the record for a decade and a half till Dennis Lillee went past him.
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He remains the one of three Australians with 2,000 runs and 200 wickets in Test cricket (Warne and Johnson are the others).

He regained the Ashes and retained it twice, and won series in India and Pakistan.

He did not lose a single series as captain.
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At Delhi in 1959-60, Benaud got 3.4-3-0-3, the most wickets in a Test innings without conceding a run. Nobody has even 2/0.

The Benauds had arrived in Australia in 1840 from France on the Ville de Bordeaux. Yes, he is of French origin.
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Richie's father Lou was an excellent leg-spinner.

Playing for Penrith Waratah, he once took 10/30 (with a hat-trick) and 10/35 against St Mary's.

For Combined Casino against NSW, Lou got 3/65 and 39*. NSW captain Kippax was immediately offered a place in a Sydney Club.
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But Lou was not sanctioned leave.

He vowed that if his sons had the talent to make a cricket career, he would make sure he did.

I mentioned "sons". John, 14 years younger to Richie, made his Test debut eight years after Richie’s retirement.
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He played only 3 Tests, scoring 223 runs at 44.60 and taking 2 wickets at 6.

Richie's averages were 24.45 and 27.03, so there might have been some interesting dinner-table conversations.
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Richie was a very talented tennis player. Richie, six, and one May Purtell, eight, once thrashed a couple of 12-year-olds 6-0.

Growing up, Richie idolised Miller – to the extent that he played bareheaded a la Miller even in summer (and Australian summers can be hot!).
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Benaud was playing his second Test, at SCG, when Waite cut one fiercely.

It went to him at gully. The upper lip was split, the gum was smashed, but there was no lasting damage.

But when he got married a few days later, he had to utter his promises with his face bandaged up.
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During the 1953 Ashes, a young Benaud had *eleven doubles and a treble* and had a terrible hangover next day.

He took the seat next to the driver as the team boarded the coach for an 18-mile trip.

But a Daily Mail correspondent and his wife took a lift on the same coach.
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Don and Jesse Bradman.

Obviously Benaud could not throw up (it was BRADMAN!).
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During the 1958-59 Ashes, Bradman, Chairman of Selectors, dropped Favell for the last Test, at MCG.

He picked four fast bowlers – Lindwall, Davidson, Meckiff, and Rorke.

Benaud: "You’ve left me with four fast bowlers".
Bradman (smiling): "That's your problem."
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Benaud won the toss and asked England to bat. A concerned Bradman cornered him.
- It's never been done before, did you know?
- What hasn't?
- No captain has ever sent England in to bat in Australia and won the match.
- Well, there's always a first time, you know.
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(some versions mention this happening before the toss)

Benaud took 4/43. England were bowled out for 205. Australia won by 9 wickets.
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Benaud and Davidson were great mates, but there were times when Benaud had to get that extra bit out of 'Davo'.

Once, when Davidson had bowled a long spell on a very hot day, it became evident that he would not carry on for much longer.
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Benaud: "Just one more over, Al, pal. Bowl him another like that fourth one last over which moved in, then left him. You're doing wonderfully."

It worked: "Just put the ball in my hand and show me which way to go."
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During the famous Brisbane Test of 1961-62, Australia needed 124 against West Indies in 120 minutes after tea. Bradman dropped arrived at the dressing-room:

- What is it going to be?
- Well, we're going for a win.
- I’m very pleased to hear it.

This was the first tie.

Trueman (11/88) helped England beat Australia in the Leeds Test of the 1961 Ashes.

Benaud bought all newspapers and pinned cuttings lauding Trueman on the dressing-room door and walls.

"The reaction was good, though some of the language wasn't," he later recollected.
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Australia famously won the next Test, at Old Trafford, Benaud playing key role. They retained The Ashes.

Benaud was significantly responsible for the change of on-field body language, especially while celebrations (you need to see videos of Laker's 19/90).
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He bowled with an unbuttoned shirt, appealed voraciously, ran to hug teammates. These are common today but were alien in the 1950s and 1960s.

Benaud once turned down an offer to pen a book on leg-spin:
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"Everything you needed to know could be written on a side of A4 paper; you can pass on the theory in an hour but mastery through practice can last a lifetime."

On a Pakistan tour, it seemed like the team coach would collide with a heavy carrier.

The team members moved to the seats on the other side.

Such was Benaud's concentration that he kept reading, chewing gum at a leisurely pace.

The carrier got away with a dent, but one side of the coach was severely damaged.
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As the entire team got down to inspect, Benaud walked across the aisle, changed seats, and continued to read.

Kerry Packer insisted Benaud stood out from the others in the studio.
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Benaud would typically be in white or cream or ivory or beige, while his colleagues often wore the darker shades.

Of course, there were exceptions to this, as you will find on Google Images.
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A confused Slater once approached Benaud (who else?) for clarification on the past tense of 'sneak':

"Hey Rich, can I use the word 'snuck', or is it 'sneaked'? Whaddya think?"

"Michael, quit a few 'ucks' come to mind, but 'sn' is not one of them."
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When the Channel 4 website was launched, they, along with Turtlez Ltd, created a software called Desktop Richie.

It provided match updates in Benaud's voice, including that famous "mwa-ve-las".

(It used to get annoying after a while, so I uninstalled it.)
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Benaud believed that sport should be available on free-to-air television.

When Channel 4 lost the rights of matches in England to Sky in 2005, Benaud announced that he would not commentate in England again.
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Benaud hated missing even a single moment during matches.

Unfortunately, toilets in several grounds are placed far away, and Benaud was invariably held up by fans (autographs etc) en route, so he ended up missing some of the action.
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Benaud actually requested Nottinghamshire CCC for a solution.

They installed a new toilet next to the commentary box. It goes by (unofficially) the moniker of Richie's Loo.

(this particular story is courtesy @senantix)
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(may add more tweets)

Only 14 touring spinners have taken 25 wickets in India. Of them, 11 are finger spinners.

When sorted by average, they occupy positions 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 13 14.

At 12 and 13 are, respectively, Kaneria and Warne.

Benaud is at 1, with 18.38.
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