Richie Benaud

Richard "Richie" Benaud (born October 6, 1930) is an Australian cricketer and latterly cricket commentator.

Born in Penrith, Benaud played 63 Test matches for his country between 1951 and 1964 amongst a total of 259 first-class games. One of Australia's best leg spin bowlers, he took 292 Test wickets at a bowling average of 27.03 and a batting average of 24.05 to compliement his all-round performance. He successfully led his country in 28 Test matches, most memorably in the 1960-61 series against the West Indian team including the famous Tied Test in Brisbane, Queensland.

After his retirement from professional cricket, Benaud turned to cricket journalism and commentary, dividing his time between England (where he worked for the BBC for many years, prior to joining Channel 4) and Australia (for the Nine Network).

His voice, appearance, and penchant for cream jackets are so well-known a succession of comedy albums by The Twelfth Man parodying Benaud's foibles have been best-sellers in Australia.

In 2004, Benaud starred in a series of television advertisements for the Australian Tourism Commission, aimed at promoting Australia as a tourist destination. Benaud's ad featured him in various scenic locations uttering his signature comment, "Marvellous!"

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