Published: Apr 10, 2015, 10:53 AM (IST)
Edited: Apr 10, 2015, 06:09 PM (IST)
The morning of April 4, 2015 came down heavily on cricket fans across the world as they woke up to the news that Richie Benaud had passed away. Abhishek Mukherjee moruns a man who, for a generation, was synonymous to cricket.
Indian fans, remember the 1980s, or even the 1990s, or, at least, the 2000s? Cricket in Australia, waking up at five, and the voices of those men? Remember the good-humoured banter between Bill Lawry and Tony Greig, the hard-hitting, no-holds-barred comments from Ian Chappell, unconventional, erudite insights from Mark Taylor, and the chirpy voice of Ian Healy?
Amidst all this was Richie Benaud: unbiased, almost emotionless, in that accent that everyone tries to copy but cannot perfect, leading the Channel Nine team. Benaud was there. Benaud was always there. Like WG Grace’s beard, like Don Bradman’s 99.94, like the photograph of Ian Meckiff being run out, like Father Time at Lord’s, like the cathedral outside Adelaide Oval, Benaud was there. Benaud’s voice was there. Read: Richie Benaud — A great all-rounder and the voice of cricket
Indeed, there was a time in India when Benaud made those winter mornings comfortable. At that age we did not even know that he was a legend of the sport before he had taken on the microphone. All we did after the match was over was to play cricket, and invariably someone would imitate Richie’s voice and try to commentate on the match.
It was only later that we got to know — of the Tied Test, of the inaugural Frank Worrell Trophy, of that Old Trafford Test, of that ball to Peter May, his infallibility in Ashes contests, his invincibility as captain (a lot of people — Benaud himself — said this had a lot to do with “luck”), his relations with Neil Harvey and Alan Davidson, and more. Richie Benaud passes away at the age of 84
Researchers say Benaud has attended more Test matches (as spectator, player, journalist, commentator, expert, and whoever knows what) than anyone else in history. Few would be surprised, for, as I said, Benaud was always there. There could not have been any cricket without Benaud. Watch: Eight videos that highlight Richie Benaud’s career
They say, after today, there will be cricket after Benaud. I refuse to believe in the phrase “after Benaud”. For I can almost hear him, watching emerging stars set the ground on fire, and then, irrespective of the excitement in those huge Australian amphitheatres, a half-exalted “mwa-ve-las”.
There is a reason why I am writing this is with a heavy heart. There is a reason why I cannot help but smile and nod while thinking of Benaud. There was a reason why Gideon Haigh wrote that he was “perhaps the most influential cricketer and cricket personality since the Second World War.” Read: Five most memorable quotes by the ‘Voice of Cricket’
Rest in peace, Richie, and let there be a ball to give it a rip, a piece of willow to give it a thwack, a coin to flip, and, of course, a microphone to end it all. Which of the four would you prefer, if given a choice?
This, and so much, so much more that remained unanswered… forever…
(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor and Cricket Historian at CricketCountry. He blogs here and can be followed on Twitter here.)
