A very large signed vintage photograph (372 × 368 mm) of Richie Benaud, taken in England during a publicity shoot for Gray-Nicolls cricket bats
An original gelatin silver photograph, lightly foxed and creased about the edges (but easily matted out); a few tiny indentations; in excellent condition overall.
The inkstamp of the London photographer, Chard Jenkins, is on the verso. The photograph probably dates from the 1962-63 Australian tour of England. The signature and inscription ('Best wishes') were obtained at a later date. They are written very clearly in ink on the surface of the photograph. Richie Benaud (1930-2015) played 63 Tests between 1952 and 1964. 'With little to show for his first six years in Test cricket, he blossomed as a fully fledged allrounder in South Africa in 1957-58, then flowered as a charismatic captain at home against England in 1958-59. He repossessed the Ashes, which his teams then successfully defended twice. As a legspinner, he was full of baits and traps, and he batted and fielded with verve. Yet it was his presence, as much as anything, which summoned the best from players: cool but communicative, he impressed as one to whom no event was unexpected, no contingency unplanned for. The same has applied to his journalism: terse, direct and commonsensical, and his broadcasting: mellow and authoritative. His wise head was sought by Kerry Packer in the formation of World Series Cricket in 1977, conferring respectability on the breakaway professional circuit. A guru to Ian Chappell and Shane Warne among others, he is perhaps the most influential cricketer and cricket personality since the Second World War' (Cricinfo profile, by Gideon Haigh).
Item #130360
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