In September's edition of Wisden, published this Friday, we find proof, if ever proof was needed that Channel 4 and Nine's (Australia) ever-green commentator Richie Benaud has been voted the nation's favourite cricket commentator.  In a poll of nearly 12,000 fans, conducted by The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Benaud received more than 10,000 votes;  3,000 more than next man Michael Holding in the voters’ Dream Team.

With Channel 4’s coverage being replaced by the exclusive Sky deal from next season, the poll aimed to identify the mix of commentators preferred by the country’s growing ranks of cricket fans. Channel 4 and Sky each have three commentators in the six-man Dream Team, with Geoff Boycott, David Gower, Mark Nicholas and Ian Botham making up the placings after Benaud and Holding.

Learning of his nomination Benaud told the September issue of the magazine: “All these things are nice but you’ve got to bear in mind that out there – and I do get correspondence to confirm this – there are others who don’t have me at the top, who say why don’t you talk more, why don’t you do this or that. Everyone has their own idea about commentating.”

And the Golden Rule that has guided him in covering more Test matches than any other commentator is to keep things simple: “Keep it simple. It was always explained to me as being a simple game by the likes of Keith Miller, Arthur Morris and Ray Lindwall – and my father. All of them said keep it simple. The over-riding thing is that if I can’t add anything to what’s on the screen then I just shut up. Second thing is try to put your brain into gear before you open your mouth. And thirdly, never try to be too clever.”

The Wisden Cricketer dream team

Voters have picked a balanced side, half Sky, half Channel 4, part posh, part populist, two-thirds English but headed by an Australian and a Jamaican. Above all, they have voted Benaud. Sky’s instinct is to chase youth, but on the other hand it has a boss who is also still working at 74.  Asked about his future plans, with Channel 4 giving way to Sky next year, Benaud said: “It would be absolutely outrageous of me to think of anything this year other than working for Channel 4. It would be to my discredit and Channel 4 would regard it as not very good either. All I’m interested in is making this Channel 4’s best ever year. I might drop off the tweak tomorrow so next year might not matter.”

Narrowly missing out on selection in the Dream Team by just over 100 votes to Ian Botham is Mike Atherton, who in turn pipped ‘Bumble’ Lloyd by just 165 votes to head up the voters’ Second XI.  

Instead of simply casting votes for their favourites, respondents were encouraged to add comments with their nominations. Here is a selection:

Alan Denby: “Dishonourable mention to Bob Willis for single-handedly increasing the volume of phone calls to the Samaritans by 300% every time he tells us that everyone, if not crap, is certainly not very good and the weather’s bad as well.”

Geoff Statham: “Geoff Boycott: big-headed, patronising, boring guff.”

Roger Goodacre: “Not only were the great West Indian quicks too good for Botham, Gower et al, Holding shows they were evidently much shrewder thinkers about the game.”

Richard Sumner: “Nasser Hussain: purely for comedy value – you can guarantee that in Nasser’s opinion, it won’t be good enough ‘against the Australians’. ‘Yes Andrew Strauss has made 136 but that won’t be enough against the Australians!’ Is he like this at home? ‘Karen, this chicken korma is great but you’re going to need to take it up a level if we’re going to have Ricky Ponting round for dinner, because if the Australians spot a weakness they’ll seize on it.”

S Margetts: “David Gower has the aura of someone who thinks he’s doing the viewer a favour by being there. Nasser Hussain commentates like my dad orders breakfast from locals in Spain.”

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