I’m an occasional cricket fan rather than a diehard, but Richie Benaud’s commentary was always one of the best reasons to tune in. I’m not old enough to remember him in his prime playing years, but his formidable expertise and charming ambassadorship for cricket as meaning something more than just the game were always worth at least some of my time. I was never entirely convinced that cricket was as essential to the concept of Western civilisation as Benaud seemed to believe, but he made me believe there might be something there.

No matter how mercurial my interest in cricket may have been from day to day and year to year, Benaud’s understatedly witty commentary was always part of the zeitgeist, and when he turned up as a celebrity guest on other sorts of entertainment he was always immensely personable. I’m sad that he won’t be part of our world any more. Will the massed Riche Benaud cosplayers still turn up to the matches? I hope so.

Categories: arts & entertainment

Tags: australian tv, sports, telly