Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I would like to join with my colleagues on both sides of the House in paying respect and tribute to the great Australian Richie Benaud. Born on 6 October 1930 and passing away on 10 April 2015, he sadly lost his battle with cancer last month at the age of 84.

Richie was a man of many talents, including being a daring Australian cricket captain and the voice of cricket, the voice of summer. He was arguably the greatest Australian cricketer of his generation, but he is known to generations as Channel 9's cricket commentator. For decades his voice was always there. He became a familiar presence in households across the country for his analysis of the sport he loved.

Richie was a celebrated all-rounder who will be remembered for his many sporting achievements, among them: hitting 100 runs against the West Indies in 78 minutes, the third fastest century of all time and the second fastest by an Australian; captaining Australia in 28 tests, including 12 wins, 11 draws, one tie and four losses—he never lost a series—and becoming the first player to complete the test double of 200 wickets and 2,000 runs. He was the first Australian to achieve that milestone. Having said that, back in his era there was not the number of test matches we play today.

It is worth noting that he is one of only 10 Australian cricketers to have scored more than 10,000 runs and taken more than 500 wickets in first-class cricket. He debuted at Sydney Cricket Ground in January 1952 against the West Indies. He played his last test, again in Sydney, in 1964, against South Africa. His batting: he played in 64 matches, he scored 2,201 runs, and his highest score was 122. He made three centuries in his career as a test player. He will probably be remembered more for his bowling than for his batting. He took 248 wickets. Best figures were seven for 72, at an average of 27.03. He played many first-class matches from 1949 to 1964—259 first-class matches in total. He scored 11,719 runs and took 945 wickets—an outstanding achievement.

What he remembers as probably one of the finest matches he has ever competed in was the famous tied test at the Gabba in 1960. There were some great players in that team. Alan Davidson, for instance, the left-hand swing bowler, took five for 135 and six for 87.    Wes Hall, a strapping young West Indian—very tall, very powerful—took four for 140 and five for 63. This is the calibre of players he was playing with. Garry Sobers scored 132; he was arguably the best all-rounder in the world. Norm O'Neil made 181 runs. Frank Worrell, the captain of the West Indies team, scored 65. Alan Davidson had a good double for the match; he also scored 80. It was a very exciting last day of that test match. Australia had seven for 227. They needed 233 runs to win the match. Benaud was out on the second ball of the last over. There were then two more run outs, and the scores were locked at the end of the match at 232. Later that afternoon Benaud and Worrell stood on the veranda of the Gabba and congratulated their teams for playing the game in the very highest of spirits. In that match, Benaud and Davidson scored a seventh-wicket record of 134.

The great man also has a lasting place in popular culture satire. Billy Birmingham's The Twelfth Mandepicted the whole commentating team: Richie, Bill Lawry and Tony Greig—'It was a great laugh', and we probably all remember 'two for 22'; that was Richie's saying. And when he got to the stage where one match went for 'two for 222', everyone roared laughter. That was Billy Birmingham, a good mate of Richie Benaud.

He was also a family man and is survived by his wife of 47 years, Daphne; his brother, John, who also played cricket for Australia; and of course a large extended family. John was also a very handy cricketer. He played only three matches for Australia, but he did have a higher score than Richie; his highest score in three matches was 142. In keeping with Richie's modest wishes, his family declined an offer of a state funeral. A noble man, his final request was that guests at his funeral not bring flowers but instead make a donation to the Primary Club, a charity that provides sporting facilities for the disabled, of which Richie was the patron.

Richie was the last man standing from a golden age in Australian cricket. He will be sorely missed by his family and friends and by world cricket. A marvellous effort, Richie. Rest in peace.

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