Sports
Benaud family declines state funeral offer
Sydney, April 12
The family of the late former
Australian cricket captain and legendary cricket commentator Richie
Benaud has declined Prime Minister Tony Abbott's proposal for a state
funeral.
Benaud's widow Daphne informed the prime minister's
office on Saturday to "kindly decline" the offer. Benaud, 84, died on
Thursday. His family has arranged for a private funeral attended only by
his immediate family, bbc.co reported.
The commentator himself
had wished for "something very, very quiet and very, very private",
Abbott was quoted as saying by bbc.com on Sunday.
"I thought it
was important that as a mark of the respect that we have long had for
him that we should offer a state funeral," he added.
"But my understanding is that Richie's own wishes were for something very, very quiet, and something very, very private."
Benaud
played in 63 Tests, captaining 28 of them, before retiring in 1964 to
pursue a highly-successful career in journalism and broadcasting.