02:43 PM
12/04/24
12/04/24
November 21, 2009
The Voice of Forty Summers: Richie Benaud, perhaps the greatest ever cricket commentator, is hanging up the microphone after this (southern) summer.
Wow... The man is a legend, up there with Murray Walker.
posted by Drood at 08:17 PM on November 22, 2009
Actually, the story says (and my link makes clear) that he's not retiring, just taking a smaller role having signed a new contract that doesn't involve the ball-by-ball commentary. For that, he'll be missed.
To be honest, I thought he'd retired already, as he's been winding down his workload on the northern hemisphere over the past years.
posted by etagloh at 02:20 AM on November 24, 2009
Of all the sports commentators that I've heard, the two that have always stood head and shoulders above all others, were Richie Benaud in cricket, and Peter Alliss in golf. They had each played their game at the highest level, each was extremely eloquent, and each knew that television was primarily a visual medium - they never insulted the viewer by describing what was plainly visible.