Ken ‘KG’ Cunningham’s first encounter with Richie Benaud — the gentleman

SOUTH Australian cricket great Ken ‘KG’ Cunningham was just 21 when he first met Richie Benaud.

Cricket commentator Richie Benaud holding microphone in booth at Adelaide Oval, 20 Jan 1982. (Pic by unidentified staff photographer)

SOUTH Australian cricket great Ken ‘KG’ Cunningham was just 21 when he first met Richie Benaud the gentleman.

Cunningham was preparing for the second game of his First Class career against NSW in 1960 when on the morning of the match at Adelaide Oval there was a knock at the dressing room door.

“Every single New South Wales player led by Richie Benaud walked in and shook hands with every South Australian player,” Cunningham recalled to The Advertiser.

“And I thought ‘Kenny, you’re out of your depth here’.

“We won the toss and I was out there batting with our captain Les Favell and I was as nervous as a kitten, I was nicking and french cutting and getting sledged like you wouldn’t believe.

Cricket commentator Richie Benaud holding microphone in a booth at Adelaide Oval in 1982.

“And there was one particular bowler sledging me all day and rightly so the way I was playing.

“But at the end of one over Richie Benaud who was captain of the NSW side came in from mid-on and the bowler threw the ball to him, and Richie replied ‘I think that’s enough verbals today’.

“I looked at Les and said ‘did you just hear that?’ And he said ‘son, that is how Richie Benaud plays the game’.

“And I still remember it 50 years on.”

When news of Benaud’s passing broke this morning, Cunningham fought back tears as he paid tribute to him during an interview on 1047 Triple M.

“Richie Benaud will be looked upon and recognised as the greatest cricket ambassador, not just for Australia but on a worldwide stage, and he was an absolute gentleman,” Cunningham said.

“He (wasn’t) just recognised for the era of the 1960s when he was a player and captain of Australia, he was recognised and adored by the younger generation.

“I can’t find the right words to describe just how good he was, if there was a perfect person around, Richie Benaud was very close indeed.”

Cunningham said Benaud’s captaincy during Australia’s 1960-61 series against the West Indies was one of his finest hours on the field but he made an equally big impression in the commentary box in the decades that followed.

“His philosophy was and he was very strong on this — the game had given him so much joy, such a wonderful lifestyle, he was never ever going to be critical of something (like that),” Cunningham said on Triple M.

“He absolutely loved the game and it was his life.

“He was the father figure in the commentary box, when you get different people like Bill Lawry and Ian Chappell and the late Tony Greig — I don’t use this word lightly, he (Benaud) was idolised by his co-commentators.

“Not just respected but he was idolised as a person and whatever Richie said or did, the boys doffed their hat to him.

“His indelible mark on the game of cricket will never be equalled, right across the spectrum.”