Benaud went on to dismiss tail-ender Alf Valentine for his first Test wicket, conceding 14 runs from 4. 3 overs.

Benaud went around the wicket and bowled into the footmarks, having Dexter caught behind and then Peter May bowled around his legs.

There was no tour that winter, so he went to Rhodesia and South Africa with the International Cavaliers, under Richie Benaud, who taught him the flipper, and he became friends with Bobby Simpson.

With Alan Davidson injured Benaud brought gave the new ball to Bill Lawry who nearly knocked his cap off with a beamer that went for 4 byes.

Benaud went on to defeat England 4 – 0, widely regarded as the best team at the time, thereby establishing himself as captain of a resurgent Australia.

In his debut match, and the second match of the series at Lord's, McKenzie stood in for an injured Benaud and went on to take the last three English wickets in twelve balls which gave him a card of 5 / 37 off 29 overs.

An incident in the second Test of the 1960 – 61 series involved the West Indies player Joe Solomon being given out after his hat fell on the stumps after being bowled at by Richie Benaud.

Richard " Richie " Benaud OBE (; born 6 October 1930 ) is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game.

In the Second Test at Cape Town, Benaud took 4 / 95 and then 5 / 49 in the second innings to secure an innings victory after the home team were forced to follow on.

When South Africa followed on, Benaud took 5 / 84, which left Australia needing only one run to win.

Benaud had less of an impact on the next two Tests, which Australia lost and drew, totalling 6 / 244.

Australia had fallen to 6 / 92 on the final day chasing a target of 233 with Benaud and Davidson at the crease.

Benaud took 3 / 116 to complement scores of 43 and 90 on his return in the Third Test in Sydney.

Benaud has become a staunch advocate of cricket being available on free-to-view TV.

Thus, the 2005 Ashes series was the last that Benaud commentated on in Britain.

In the case of the latter, comedian Billy Birmingham's impersonations of Benaud on The Twelfth Man comedy recordings have become legendary, spanning over twenty years.

It was announced on 15 November 2009, that Benaud had signed a three-year agreement with the Nine Network to continue being part of their cricket coverage until 2013, although his role would change from that of ball-by-ball commentary.

", " Well, the answer to that ", Benaud replied, " If there is, as there always can be, some emergency or a sensational happening on or off the field where it would be quite ridiculous not to go into the commentary box, of course I'll be in there doing my job and doing it as professionally as I can.

statistical profile on Richie Benaud

At an awards dinner at the end of the season, Australian commentator Richie Benaud, upon seeing Hadlee hobble up to the stage on crutches, said later that he thought Hadlee " would never play cricket again.

As befits the name ( a reference to the non-playing reserve in an eleven-player cricket side ), Birmingham particularly focuses on cricket commentators such as Richie Benaud, Bill Lawry and Tony Greig.

This law also applies if part of the batsman's equipment is dislodged and hits the stumps: Dwayne Bravo hit Kevin Pietersen in the head with a bouncer and his helmet hit the stumps during the 2007 England vs West Indies Test match at Old Trafford ; a topspinner from Richie Benaud once knocked off Joe Solomon's cap, and the cap landed on Solomon's stumps.

The first statue commissioned was of bowler Richie Benaud and was unveiled on 4 January 2008 by Benaud himself.

Commentating on the match, Richie Benaud called Hughes's actions " as curious a captaincy decision as I have ever seen ".

Following the retirement of Richie Benaud, Booth was appointed as the vice-captain under Simpson as Australia embarked on a successful 1964 tour of England, which saw the retention of the Ashes.

In the Second Test at Lord's in 1961, when Benaud was injured, Harvey led the team in the " Battle of the Ridge " on an erratic surface, grinding out a hard fought victory.

At one stage, Australia were left with only 10 men on the field when Benaud excused himself and his replacement succumbed to illness, requiring an Englishman to stand in.

Benaud returned for the Third Test, when England levelled the series despite twin half-centuries of 73 and 53 from Harvey, who top-scored in both innings on a dustbowl in a match that lasted only three days.

The First Test in Brisbane ended in the first tie in Test history, which came about after Benaud and Alan Davidson, rather than settle for a draw, decided to risk defeat and play an attacking partnership, which took Australia to the brink of victory.

Benaud returned to form with match figures of 5 / 142 and 57 in the Fifth Test at Sydney, which ended in a painful draw when Benaud ordered Bill Lawry and Peter Burge to play out the last afternoon for a draw that would retain the Ashes.

He formed an alliance with Australian captain Richie Benaud, seeking more attractive play, with some success.

Both Worrell and his opposing captain, Richie Benaud, encouraged their teams to play attacking cricket.

In the Fifth Test, Lawry had been ordered by captain Richie Benaud to occupy the crease and play out for a draw.

Playing with ten men, Benaud said that Harvey " proceeded, with a certain amount of anger, to play one of the best innings I have seen in Sheffield Shield ".

In this match, Benaud had captained New South Wales and the hosts had the better of the play.

Described by The Times as lightly bow-legged, with a wonderful eye, wrists the envy of any batsman, and feet always the right place to play a shot, Richie Benaud stated that many Australians who saw Weekes in action said he was the closest batsman in style to the pre-World War II Donald Bradman.

Grout then toured India and Pakistan over the 1959-60 summer, and captain Richie Benaud insisted Jarman play two tests as almost all games on the tour were Test matches.

First selected to play for Australia at age of 19, he toured England in 1961 under Richie Benaud.

Benaud returned and scored 37 and took a total of 2 / 68 in the final match, ending the season with 184 runs at 36. 80 and 11 wickets at 34. 63.

Australia needed six runs from the final over, in which Benaud was caught and the last two wickets fell to run outs while attempting the winning run.

This allowed Benaud to bowl Australia to victory on the final day.