Outside Edge: When Richie Benaud said 'morning everyone' he really meant it

Diary of a cricket obsessive

Richie Benaud has died, aged 84 (Getty Images)

Free-to-air TV made Benaud a household name for generations

Many wonderful words have been said and written about the unsurpassable Richie Benaud since the sad news of his death last week.

Whatever he had done in retirement, his brilliance on the field of play would have left an indelible mark in the record books. And yet it is probably for his second career as a commentator that he will most fondly - and certainly most widely - be remembered.

That this should be so is an apt reminder of the power of free-to-air television coverage –a concept which arguably had no greater advocate than Benaud himself. Indeed, so strong was his belief in the need to keep cricket on TV freely accessible to all, that he decided to retire from commentating in this country when Channel 4 lost the rights to live test matches to Sky after 2005.

The claims made for the benefits provided by Sky’s money are frequently overblown. The ‘trickle-down’ effect is about as obvious as it is in the wider economy. And the simple fact is that cricket’s audience – and thus its potential playing pool – has diminished. As for the commentators, Sky has several who are top-notch. But it is hard to imagine any of them being remembered as Benaud is: their commentary speaks only to the aficionados, not the wider public.

Richie’s ‘morning everyone’ was charm personified. But it also carried real resonance because on those occasions, like the 2005 Ashes, when cricket grabbed the nation’s heart, ‘everyone’ really did seem to have tuned in.

Commit to Stokes for the good of England’s long-term future

As they push for victory today, England have broadly done the necessary against a West Indies side which simply does not have the personnel to compete consistently on even terms. Phil Simmons may be an excellent coach but it is easier to fine-tune thoroughbreds than to turn also-rans into winners. As things stand, the Windies do not excel in any department. Forget Ambrose or Richards, they could do with a Winston Benjamin or a Gus Logie.

It is incumbent on the selectors now to make Stokes a regular (Getty Images)

The biggest plus for England might just be the performance of Ben Stokes, back after a World Cup he may have done well to miss. Stokes is a man who took a brilliant ton off a rampant Aussie attack last winter. His first innings in Antigua was almost as majestic, if against less stressful opposition. A couple of straight drives would have had the Queen on the phone to the PM for a spot of purring.

It is incumbent on the selectors now to make Stokes a regular. He, with Root, Buttler, Ali and one or two others ought to make up England's core for the foreseeable future.

There’s nothing wrong with cricketing princesses

The Cricketer magazine is a wonderful thing and its monthly arrival through my letterbox is enough to make the heart sing.

At first, I was mildly outraged that for this season’s colour-coded fixture wallchart, the magazine had decided to highlight England’s women’s matches in pink. How stereotypical, I thought.

Then I wondered how my five-year-old daughter’s interest in the game might best be encouraged and I realised that, sadly, the pink connection might just be the way to go. Her first bat was pink too, until her idiot father broke it. The replacement is orange and is just about acceptable to the child’s critical eye.

@willjgore