Richie Benaud: 'Voice of cricket' dies at 84

Former Australia cricket captain and legendary broadcaster Richie Benaud has died at the age of 84.

Benaud, whose witty one-liners from the commentary box resonated far beyond Australia's shores, said last year he was being treated for skin cancer.

"After Don Bradman, there has been no Australian player more famous than Richie Benaud,

"Benaud stood at the top of the game throughout his rich life, first as a record-breaking leg-spinner and captain, and then as cricket's most famous -- and most impersonated -- broadcaster."

A veteran of 64 Test matches, Benaud was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. 

While many regarded his voice as the soundtrack to an Australian summer, Benaud was equally revered by the cricketing public on the other side of the world where he spent more than four decades with the BBC taking the game into millions of British living rooms.

But whether you were sitting in Sydney or in South London, there were plenty of "marvelous" Richie moments from the box to savor:

"And Glenn McGrath dismissed for two, just ninety-eight runs short of his century."

"From our broadcasting box you can't see any grass at all. It is simply a carpet of humanity."

"Captaincy is 90% luck and 10% skill. But don't try it without that 10%."

Cricketer with few equals

News of his passing quickly generated a wave of condolences, including from Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

"To most Australians Richie Benaud was cricket. He personified its traditions and its values," Abbott said in a written statement Friday.