Richie Benaud dies at 84: state funeral for 'great Australian'

Under his captaincy Australia never lost a series – but he won English hearts as a BBC commentator

150410-benaud.jpg

Richie Benaud, one of the great captains of Australian cricket and a brilliant commentator who combined acute analysis with an inimitable delivery, has died at the age of 84.

He died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday after revealing in November last year that he was suffering from skin cancer. Within hours of Benaud's death, the Australian government offered a state funeral with Prime Minister Tony Abbott declaring: "He certainly will be very, very much missed. He was a very, very effective cricketer, a great captain, a great character and great personality… This is the greatest loss for cricket since the loss of Don Bradman."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More