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Sunday, November 27, 2016

Australia's Richie Benaud honoured with 50 cent coin

Richie Benaud was called "the voice of cricket" and now legendary commentator Richie Benaud will be the face of a 50 cent coin in Australia.

Tributes poured in for Richie Benaud, a former Australian Test captain, after his death last year aged 84.

The limited-run coin salutes his career on and off the field, and features iconic fan group "The Richies".

It was conceived with the approval of Benaud's widow, Daphne

The Royal Australian Mint said the number of coins - 95,929 - was inspired by combining nine statistics from Benaud's playing career.

After 63 Tests between 1952 and 1964, Richie Benaud became even better known as a prolific commentator, author and columnist.

Richie Benaud was a fixture of summer, inspiring a fan group who attended games wearing Benaud's trademark cream jacket. They also donned grey wigs and carried fake microphones as a light-hearted show of respect.

Richie Benaud last commentated in England in the 2005 Ashes series, but he worked on in Australia until 2013.

The co-founder of The Richies, Michael Hennessy, said the commemorative coin was a fitting tribute to Richie Benaud.

"He's only the second cricketer to be honoured on a coin after Don Bradman," he told

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