Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this very important matter of condolence, which honours the life of Richie Benaud. I know that many people in the parliament have associated themselves with the words that have been said, and I want to do the same thing and associate myself with the words of the Prime Minister and also of the Leader of the Opposition. It is said that Australia is a sporting nation, and we hold our sporting legends very close to our hearts. I think that, in itself, is an understatement, because we seem to almost be consumed by sport in so many different ways. It is sometimes difficult to understand that; at other times, it is very simple. It is a form of identity. It is a way that we connect with each other as communities and as people, it is a way that we can compete, and it is even a way in which people that not only play sport but report and commentate on sport have become—as we have heard from other speakers—part of our lives. Richie Benaud was definitely part of our lives.

In the passing of Richie, at the age of 84, we have lost not just a sporting champion of Australia but also an icon of modern Australian life. He may have been born in 1930 but he really was a modern person, somebody who evolved and changed with the times, not only with cricket but with life itself.

To many Australians, as we have heard often, Richie was the voice of summer—a distinctive voice at that—much imitated but never quite replicated might be the nicest way to say it. We all relied on his definitive word about what was happening out on the field and often what was happening more broadly about cricket as well. If Richie told viewers what the players were thinking or what the tactics were, somehow that seemed to carry that little bit more weight than if somebody else had told us those thoughts.

If we consider why Richie was so loved by so many, I think it was because he could deliver this insight with a shrewd wit and a dry sense of humour. He really was believable. It was almost as if he was telling you what the players were actually thinking when they were out of the field—what was really happening. There was a special bond, a connection, that he had with viewers and with the players in the game of cricket.

He was born in Penrith in 1930. He was an excellent leg-spin bowler and an accomplished batsman as well. He was the first in test cricket history to reach the 200 wicket and 2,000 run mark, and that is a great accomplishment for him, and he has been well acknowledged for those achievements. Richie captained Australia for 28 test matches between the 1958-59 and 1963-64 seasons. Australia never lost a series under Richie Benaud's captaincy, an achievement that was in part due to his dedication to lead a team that played attacking and entertaining cricket, something all Australians love.

After his retirement from cricket, Richie continued his career as a professional journalist and broadcaster in Australia and England, and there is no doubt he did a fine job in all aspects of that. He became the host of the world series cricket broadcasts in 1977. Just as the game on the field changed forever with the advent of world series cricket, with Richie as the host television broadcasts of cricket were also never the same. He brought a life to that broadcast. Perhaps it might never have been as good as it is without him having been there.

Richie settled into his role, and for decades he became so familiar to Australians that there has been a sense of something missing when watching the cricket in recent years as he reduced his appearances. I am sure it will take some time for Australians who watch the cricket to adjust to Richie's permanent departure from our screens—so deep was that connection.

It can be said that there are other sports where there are similar connections with broadcasters and commentators but it would be hard to find many that had such a deep connection as Richie Benaud. I offer my sincere condolences to: his wife, Daphne; all his family; all his loved ones; and to the cricket world more broadly.

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