Richie Benaud

[GM-MarkB]

Surprised no one has mentioned the passing of one of the greatest sports commentators of all time.

Good commentators know when to speak and when to keep quiet.

Benaud was a master of the art.

[idler]

He was rightly well respected both inside and outside the game.
He will be sadly. Missed.

[RobTheRover]

I met Richie Benaud once, very briefly.  It was mid-90s and the Aussie side were playing Derbyshire at Derby whilst over here on tour.  There was a really heavy downpour mid-afternoon so the players took an early tea and Benaud was sat having something to eat with Boon and all the fans were mixing around freely with them.  I had a 10 minute chat with them both about junior cricket in Australia and how they keep to production line going.  Nice blokes.

[BobG]

Him and Jim Laker were the twin voices of my youth. They're the only two I remember now. Sitting, day after day, in fronty of the black and white goggle box, watching the single camera (and I do mean single) coverage of all the test matches. Brilliant.

I went off Laker in the end because he had a bee in his bonnet about Geoffrey Boycott that he couldn't control. But like Barry Davies and others on here have said, Richie knew the value of silence. Barry Davies is the only other commentator during my lifetime of whom the same can be said. The total absence of it is why I loathe Motson.

BobG