John Benaud
Encyclopedia
John Benaud is a former Australia
n cricket
er.
John Benaud is the son of Louis and Irene Benaud (both deceased). His only sibling is fellow cricketer Richie Benaud
, who is older by 13 years. John is married to Lindsay Benaud with two children. His son Jamie Benaud was born in 1971; he is a firefighter and Hazardous Materials Technician/Specialist with the NSW Fire Brigades. John's daughter Nicole was born in 1973 while Benaud was playing on tour in the West Indies. Nicole is a TAFE teacher. Benaud has lived in the Blue Mountains since 1971.
John began his working career at Fairfax's Sydney Sun newspaper as a copy-boy. He was subsequently awarded a Journalism cadetship and his career progressed at the paper where he remained for his entire working life. By the time the Sun was closed down in 1988 following the disastrous takeover by young Warwick Fairfax
, Benaud had risen to be the editor-in-chief of the paper. Throughout the 1990s Benaud wrote cricket columns for Australian, British and Indian sports magazines and ghost-wrote several autobiographies. In 1997 he released the book Matters of Choice, the story of his time as an Australian cricket selector.
Benaud played first-class cricket
for New South Wales
for six years, from 1966/67 to 1972/73, becoming captain of the State side. While Captain of the NSW team, Benaud was famously suspended for a month after refusing to obey the ban on Adidas Grass-sports shoes. The public and media outcry forced Cricket NSW to overturn their decision, and in the off-season the ban was lifted. He was selected for 3 Tests
in 1972 to 1973. He made his Test debut in the 1st Test against Pakistan
at Adelaide
over Christmas 1972, making little contribution as Australia won easily. He also played in the 2nd Test at the MCG
over the New Year, which Australia won again. He made the top score of 142 in the second innings, in the knowledge that he had been dropped for the 3rd Test. He returned for his third and final Test appearance in the 5th Test against West Indies
at Port of Spain
, Trinidad
, in April 1973. He contributed little with the bat, but bowled four overs to take 2-12 in a drawn match. He was later a selector for the Australian cricket team
.
The 15-year gap between John and Richie's respective Test debuts is one of the greatest in cricket history, exceeded only by Johnny Tyldesley
and Ernest Tyldesley
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er.
John Benaud is the son of Louis and Irene Benaud (both deceased). His only sibling is fellow cricketer Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud
Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
, who is older by 13 years. John is married to Lindsay Benaud with two children. His son Jamie Benaud was born in 1971; he is a firefighter and Hazardous Materials Technician/Specialist with the NSW Fire Brigades. John's daughter Nicole was born in 1973 while Benaud was playing on tour in the West Indies. Nicole is a TAFE teacher. Benaud has lived in the Blue Mountains since 1971.
John began his working career at Fairfax's Sydney Sun newspaper as a copy-boy. He was subsequently awarded a Journalism cadetship and his career progressed at the paper where he remained for his entire working life. By the time the Sun was closed down in 1988 following the disastrous takeover by young Warwick Fairfax
Warwick Fairfax
Warwick Fairfax is an Australian businessman who had tried unsuccessfully to privatise his family's media company Fairfax Media in 1987. He successfully took over the company but on 10 December 1990 the company collapsed and a receiver was appointed...
, Benaud had risen to be the editor-in-chief of the paper. Throughout the 1990s Benaud wrote cricket columns for Australian, British and Indian sports magazines and ghost-wrote several autobiographies. In 1997 he released the book Matters of Choice, the story of his time as an Australian cricket selector.
Benaud played first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
for New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
for six years, from 1966/67 to 1972/73, becoming captain of the State side. While Captain of the NSW team, Benaud was famously suspended for a month after refusing to obey the ban on Adidas Grass-sports shoes. The public and media outcry forced Cricket NSW to overturn their decision, and in the off-season the ban was lifted. He was selected for 3 Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
in 1972 to 1973. He made his Test debut in the 1st Test against Pakistan
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
at Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
over Christmas 1972, making little contribution as Australia won easily. He also played in the 2nd Test at the MCG
McG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
over the New Year, which Australia won again. He made the top score of 142 in the second innings, in the knowledge that he had been dropped for the 3rd Test. He returned for his third and final Test appearance in the 5th Test against West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
at Port of Spain
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, in April 1973. He contributed little with the bat, but bowled four overs to take 2-12 in a drawn match. He was later a selector for the Australian cricket team
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
.
The 15-year gap between John and Richie's respective Test debuts is one of the greatest in cricket history, exceeded only by Johnny Tyldesley
Johnny Tyldesley
Johnny Tyldesley was a Lancashire and England cricketer and for many years the finest professional batsman in county cricket.-Life and career:...
and Ernest Tyldesley
Ernest Tyldesley
Ernest Tyldesley was an England cricketer. The younger brother of Johnny Tyldesley and the leading batsman for Lancashire. He remains Lancashire's most prolific run-getter of all time...
.