Richie Benaud: Simply 'marvellous'

The EA Sports Cricket World Cup '99 was one of the first games I played. The young cricket-lover in me was thrilled at the prospect of controlling international players and making them bat or bowl the way I wanted them to. And the cherry on top was that there was commentary. Every boundary I hit, every wicket I take would be described in detail by two voices. One was that of David Gower. The other voice was wispy, akin to that of a wise sage, albeit one with a thick Australian accent. It was at the age of 11 that I was introduced to the commentary of the charismatic Richie Benaud.

The first time I heard the voice was during the game installation. Gower and Benaud would list out the highlights from previous editions of the Cricket World Cup. Some of the tidbits I recollect are that of him describing Kapil Dev's heroic 175 at Tunbridge Wells, and Wasim Akram's devastating spell in the 1992 final. As I started playing the game, I was taken in by his calm and collected voice, laying out the predictions for every match before it started, summing up the match once it ended, and lacing the match with bits and pieces of cricket history. It was a pre-recorded template, which kept on repeating itself. But perhaps it was my age, or as I would like to believe, the magic in Richie Benaud's voice, that made it feel real.

Today, on a particularly lazy Friday morning as I settled in for work, I heard the news of Benaud's demise and it brought about a pang in me. There is a certain beauty and charm to the game of cricket. This is the kind that presents itself when Michael Holding skillfully dismantles an impressive batting line-up, and equally when Michael Atherton hops, skips and jumps while fending off an aggressive Allan Donald. And Benaud raised the charm to a new plane.

I am perhaps too young and inexperienced to write anything about his allround talent and captaincy. But I consider myself lucky enough to have had his voice fill up my living room on various occasions. It is sad to know that the first distinct commentary voice I could identify is no more. With a heavy heart, I bid you goodbye. You, sir, were simply 'Marvellous!'