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“Hello, and welcome to all our international viewers to the WACA Ground in Perth…”

 

For many, the understated, mellow voice of Richie Benaud served as a window into a distant land where cricket was loud, aggressive, and played in colossal amphitheatre-like stadia.

 

Benaud’s opening comments, streamed through the sepia-tinted Channel 9 feed, were often a morning alarm for fans who would shiver out of their blankets to perch themselves in front of television sets.

 

Since Benaud’s passing in 2015, much has changed.

 

Channel 9 lost its cricket broadcasting rights in 2018, and the WACA (Western Australian Cricket Association), the spiritual