CONDOLENCE MOTION FOR RICHIE BENAUD
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, 12 MAY 2015

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Richie Benaud was the voice of the Gatting Ball, the heartbreak at Edgbaston, the first and last word on the underarm controversy.
He was the voice of the all our summers.
And with the passing of Richie Benaud Australian Cricket lost a legend, Australia lost an icon and Australians lost a dear friend.
A brilliant and daring captain, a cool head in the controversy of the World Series Cricket and the undisputed doyen of the commentary box.
In a profession that can lend itself sometimes to hyperbole and histrionics, Richie was always an island of calm understatement.
When he spoke, we listened.
For millions of Australians, Richie Benaud was cricket – the personification of our great game.
The Richie Australia first knew was a dashing all-rounder, striking boundaries and bowling leg-breaks with his hair slicked back.
From young tyro, Richie became a captain whose sportsmanship helped revive and enrich test match cricket.
He took, very seriously, Don Bradman’s instruction that every cricketer is only ever a trustee, no-one is bigger than the game that we love.
Richie kept faith with this idea to the very end.
Richie Benaud will be mourned by millions, not just here in Australia but wherever cricket is followed around the world.
But no-one will miss him more than the wife and family he adored so deeply – and we offer them our heartfelt condolences.
I suspect our nation will not see his like again, but he will live forever in the endless summer of our shared memory.
ENDS
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