Jun 18, 2025 -- 10:46AM, The Knight wrote:

Many on here nowadays will never have heard him, but to my mind the very best sports commentator of all time was Richie Benaud on cricket. As an ex-Aussie test captain and top line spin bowler, he knew the game so well. But his laconic and witty delivery was perfect. Not only that, though, he also knew when to keep quiet and NEVER said too much, allowing the sport to speak for itself. There is a well known story told by a novice commentator who was working with Benaud one day. The novice said that a team had suffered a 'tragedy' late in the day when their batting collapsed. Apparently Benaud passed him a note the the next day saying 'War, or plane crashes, or stuff equally as serious was a tragedy, not wickets falling in a cricket match'. How right Benaud was, and how he would cringe today with the plethora of over-excitable, often childish, commentators so many of whom also suffer with verbal diarrhea!!!

If i remember right he was often on channel 4 on the morning line, loved his racing.