RICHIE BENAUD was honoured by 311 cricket fans who dressed up as the silver-haired former commentator for the Sydney Test on Wednesday.
The former Australia player and irreplaceable voice of cricket is dearly missed by fans Down Under and they showed their appreciation for the sweetly-voiced Aussie who died in 2015, aged 84.
The group – known as the Richies – have gathered at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the game against Pakistan with wigs, beige jackets and inflatable microphones to remember the icon.
Group boss Michael Hennessy – who hopes his gang could go on to rival England’s Barmy Army – told the BBC: “He had the most influence on Australian cricket since Don Bradman, so I think it would be great to honour Richie with his own day.
“There's a strict dress code and a behavioural code to try and honour Richie in the right way. Our bottom line is: what would Richie do?
"It'd be good for the Aussies to have something to rival the Barmy Army.
"They've done a great job over the years of cheering on the English team. Win, lose or draw, they're cheering.”
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Benaud is a legend in Australia and will be etched even deeper into history when he features on the new 50 cent coin the Royal Australian Mint is releasing.
The Mint will produce exactly 95,929 coins because that odd number sums up his playing career.
The stats are: 13,920 runs, 1193 wickets, 26 100s, 70 50s, 79,589 balls bowled , 319 catches, 322 matches, 462 batting innings and 28 Tests captained for Australia.
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