SURPRISINGLY, there is a French Cricket Association. More surprisingly, its patron until his death was Richie Benaud, captain of Australia’s cricket team from 1958 to 1964 and, for four decades afterwards, the dry, clipped, unflappable voice of cricket on both British and Australian television. Mr Benaud loved the fact that his forebears, back way beyond Parramatta and Jugiong in New South Wales, lent their name to a tiny village somewhere near Clermont-Ferrand. And that French connection explained his liking for Chassagne Montrachet 1981 as well as beer from a green bottle; his bolthole on the Côte d’Azur; and even, perhaps, the dapperness of the cream jackets that marked him out.
Cricket aficionados found much to treasure in him, not least his leg-spin bowling—when, after a short, light run-up, he would uncoil his long body, fling his right arm high and flick his wrist so that the ball, set spinning and drifting towards a right-hand batsman, would fizz left and, with luck, demolish the wicket. He took 248 wickets in Test cricket, batted tenaciously (making more than 2,000 runs), and was a celebrated close fielder, taking 65 Test catches. As...
from The Economist: Obituary http://ift.tt/1zQmEL3
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