Intro:

Former Australia cricket captain and television commentator Richie Benaud has died at the age of 84, Cricket Australia confirmed on Friday.

Script:

SOUNDBITE: (English) Tony Abbott, Australian Prime Minister:

"Our nation has lost an icon. Richie Benaud passed away overnight. Richie Benaud has been the voice of cricket. There would be very few Australians who have not passed a summer in the company of Richie Benaud. He was the accompaniment of an Australian summer. His voice was even more present than the chirping of the cicadas in our suburbs and towns and that voice, tragically, is now still. But we remember him with tremendous affection. He hasn't just been the voice of cricket since the early 1960s, he was an extraordinarily successful Australian cricket captain. He led our country for five years in 28 Tests and he never lost a Test series. He was the first cricketer to achieve the remarkable double of 2,000 Test runs and 200 Test wickets. This is the greatest loss for cricket since the loss of Don Bradman and for that reason I'm pleased to have offered the Benaud family a State funeral. This is a sad day for everyone who loves cricket and it's a sad day for everyone who has felt that Richie Benaud is a part of his or her life."