5 of cricket's most articulate personalities

#1 Richie Benaud (Australia)

The legendary Australian leg-spinner, commentator and TV anchor, Richie Benaud, needs no formal introduction. 248 Test wickets from 63 matches at 27.03 and 2201 runs from those games at 24.45 prove that he wasn’t just the mentor for the likes of Shane Warne – who went on to become the greatest leg-spinner of all time – but he was also a capable batsman.

After the conclusion of his cricketing career, Benaud took up broadcasting as his new avenue and excelled there as well, as his well-documented career in radio, broadcast as well as print media elucidates. He was a part of Channel Nine’s commentary team for a long time and also performed the role of a TV anchor for them.

One of the most controversial moments of his second innings came in the aftermath of an ODI game between Australia and New Zealand in 1981, wherein the then Australian captain, Greg Chappell, instructed his brother Trevor to bowl an underarm delivery in order to prevent the Kiwis from hitting a six off the last ball, when there were 7 runs needed for the win.

Clearly disgusted with such an act of poor sportsmanship, Benaud said this on national television: “I think it was a disgraceful performance by a captain who got his sums wrong today, and I think it should never be permitted to happen on the field again. We keep reading and hearing that the players are under a lot of pressure, they’re tired, they’re jaded, and perhaps their judgment and skill is blunted... Well, perhaps they might advance that as an excuse for what happened out there today. Not with me, they don’t!”“I think it was very poor performance. One of the worst things I’ve ever seen on a cricket field.”

Benaud was a fearless, no-nonsense person who loved the game with every ounce of his being and that made him not just one of the best leg-spinners of all time, but also one of the most articulate personalities in world cricket.