Video: Richie Benaud talks about his terminal skin cancer

Richie Benaud

A pioneering leg-spin bowler, Benaud played in 63 Tests, 28 as captain, before retiring in 1964 to pursue a career in journalism and broadcasting. His final commentary in England came during the 2005 Ashes series but he continued to work for Channel Nine in Australia until 2013.

Benaud took 945 wickets in 259 first-class matches and made 11,719 first-class runs, scoring 23 centuries at an average of 36.50. He was the first man to achieve 2,000 runs and 200 wickets at Test level.

In Novemeber 2014, at age 84, Richie Benaud announced that he was diagnosed with skin cancer. He died in his sleep at 2:22 am on 10 April 2015.

Benaud often spoke of a return to commentary, but, to the great sadness of his legions of admirers, it did not materialise. Benaud, who was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1961 for his services to cricket, leaves a wife of 48 years, Daphne, and two children from his first marriage.