He was also a courageous and victorious leader of men, who lost neither a Test series nor his cool. Richie Benaud at the SCG in 2013 Credit:Getty Images He was the first cricketer to achieve the Test double of 2000 runs and 200 wickets and, as an all-rounder, ranks as one of the greatest. He also played a stellar role in the formation of World Series Cricket in 1977, which changed the face of international cricket, and, as a television commentator, he became "the voice of cricket". Benaud was born in Penrith on October 6, 1930, the first of two sons of Lou Benaud, of French descent, and his wife, Irene (nee Saville).

As a teenager, Lou had played cricket, but his bigger contribution was encouraging his sons Richie and John (also a Test cricketer) to play single-handed cricket by bowling a tennis ball against a wall and hitting it on the rebound. Richie Benaud pictured in the nets in 1952. While his for Channel Nine has become the stuff of summer legend, led the Australian team to world cricket dominance in the late 1950s. He played 64 Test matches as an all-rounder between 1952 and 1964. Shoulder trouble forced him to retire at 33 in 1963-64.

He took up his spot behind the microphone with the BBC while still captaining Australia in 1960, before becoming one of the greatest commentators in world cricket over the next half a century. He knew what the viewer wanted, which was to impart wisdom on what really was unfolding on the cricket field, whether that be team tactics or what may have been racing through the minds of the players. In 2013, Benaud was involved in a car crash outside his Coogee home that left him with two fractured vertebrae and ended his time in the commentary box. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential people in the game's history. Benaud was also involved in Sydney's murky world of police rounds reporting, working for afternoon daily The Sun in the late 1950s, Max Presnell recalls.

"Every copper at the CIB gravitated to ... Benaud - unsurprisingly, because he was Australia's cricket captain and they were enthusiastic to give him any special insight or colour he required," he writes. opened up about his battle with skin cancer in November before the start of the last cricket season to warn people of the dangers of not wearing sun protection. He regretted not wearing sunscreen during his decades-long cricket career and as a child. "I never ever wore a cap on the field when I was playing," he said. "I wish I had. Because the skin cancers which I got then as a young man - that's a recurring thing now." Among the many things that made Benaud endlessly fascinating and hugely likeable was his singular approach to style.

From an early age he showed a penchant for fashion flair, evident in the jaunty way he chose to flip up his shirt collar on the field. His fashion sense really came into its own in the 1980s when he curated the look that came to define his decades as the country's pre-eminent cricket commentator - the beige jacket (or was it cream, off-white or bone?), the pink/mauve shirts, the perma-tan and the helmet of snowy hair. Fans must dress as Richie: Baird NSW Premier Mike Baird wants thousands of fans attending the next Sydney Cricket Ground Test to come dressed as Richie Benaud, saying one of his "life's regrets" is never meeting the sporting legend. In Sydney on Friday, Mr Baird paid tribute to Mr Benaud, saying his death was a "terribly sad day, not only for NSW but the country".

"Ritchie Benaud [was] an icon, someone who goes together with cricket, and indeed it's hard to imagine life with them apart because they have gone together for so long," Mr Baird said. "His insights, his wit, his dry humour, his unbelievable appreciation of the game was something that held him in high esteem across the country." Mr Baird said hearing Mr Benaud commentating cricket matches assured the public that "everything was OK in the cricket world … life was good". "I never had the joy of meeting him. I guess that's one of life's regrets, I never had the chance to meet Richie," Mr Baird said. "You saw all those Richies turn up in their jackets [at the Sydney Cricket Ground]. On many occasions, I wanted to put a jacket on and join them."

Mr Baird said he hoped the next Sydney Cricket Ground test was a "Richie day" where "everyone's got to put on one of those silly brown jackets". More importantly, he said, the act would "pay tribute to someone who's been such a part of all our lives for so long". Mr Baird has instructed that all flags on NSW government structures, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, be lowered to half-mast on Friday. Brilliant captain: Alan Davidson Australian fast bowling great Alan Davidson who played with as a schoolboy all the way through to Australian representation said Benaud was one of the great captains.

"He was a great assessor of the game," Davidson said. "With , it was never a risk but always a calculated decision to do something. "Nobody every analysed or knew the opposition like did and it was the same thing with his own team - he knew what every player in the side could do and that allowed for him to make decisions which, to the outsider, who 't a cricket expert, seemed 'different'. " could assess a situation quickly, it 't so much waiting for a coach to send a message out because he acted mid-over. I bowled long spells for him on many an occasion ... he was a brilliant captain, a joy to play for - you have no idea." We've lost an icon: Abbott Mr Abbott, speaking at RAAF Base Amberley, west of Brisbane, said: "Our nation has lost an icon. passed away overnight.

" has been the voice of cricket. There would be very few Australians who have not passed a summer in the company of . He was the accompaniment of an Australian summer. His voice was even more present than the chirping of the cicadas in our suburbs and towns and that voice, tragically, is now still. "But we remember him with tremendous affection. He 't just been the voice of cricket since the early 1960s, he was an extraordinarily successful Australian cricket captain. He led our country for five years in 28 Tests and he never lost a Test series. "He was the first cricketer to achieve the remarkable double of 2000 Test runs and 200 Test wickets. This is the greatest loss for cricket since the loss of Don Bradman and for that reason I'm pleased to have offered the family a state funeral. "But this is a sad day for everyone who loves cricket and it's a sad day for everyone who has felt that is a part of his or her life." The face of cricket: John Howard

Former Australian prime minister John Howard, a keen cricket enthusiast, told Channel Nine that was in so many ways the face of cricket to Australians. Mr Howard said was "universally respected". "He was regarded as a true professional when it came to cricket commentary," Mr Howard said. "He 't waste words. He 't just feel it was necessary to talk into the microphone. If he 't have anything to say, well he 't say it, and that's a pretty good rule. "He had enormous respect because he was a class act. He was a champion player himself."

Mr Howard said also praised 's skills as a journalist. "As a print journalist he was very good, he wrote for English newspapers for decades ... He could write as well as talk." Sad day: Shorten Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said Australia had lost a legend of cricket and its "voice of summer". "Sad day for our country. Farewell & rest in peace ," he tweeted.

Best in the business: Channel Nine Channel Nine chief executive David Gyngell said 's passing had "robbed us not only of a national treasure, but a lovely man". " earned the profound and lasting respect of everyone across the world of cricket and beyond - first as an outstanding player and captain, then as an incomparable commentator, and through it all as a wonderful human being," he said on Friday. Nine's head of sport Steve Crawley said , 84, had been the "best in the business". "You 't have to know to love him. Everything about him. Best in the business bar none. We will miss him the way you miss loved ones. And at the same time we will thank our lucky stars he came our way at all," he said.

Letter that inspired fan A hand-written letter from Benaud to a young English leg-spinner almost 20 years ago has emerged as a touching example of the great cricketer's personal qualities and deep respect for his fans. For Jonathan Stevenson of Nottingham, Benaud's courtesy and gentlemanly conduct shone through in the letter, which he tweeted on Friday upon hearing of the cricketer's death. "Wrote to Richie Benaud when I was 16 about bowling leggies. His detailed reply says everything about the great man," Stevenson, who later worked for the BBC and is now a director at LiveWire Sport, said. Cricket great mourn 'godfather'

Former Australian Test captain Steve Waugh described the passing of the great Richie Benaud as "immense" while former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson said cricket had lost its "godfather". Doug Walters, the king of the SCG Hill from the 1960s to the '80s said he benefited from being exposed to a true gentleman's positive manner. Tributes flow in was beloved overseas, particularly in Britain where he had a commentary career spanning 50 years after he started as a police reporter in 1960. The Mirror said "Goodbye to the master of the microphone", while the BBC praised his "mellifluous, light delivery, enthusiastically imitated by comedians and cricket fans alike" and The Times remembered him as "the king of commentary".

Loading As news of 's death spread, tweets poured in from across the world.

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