Next Knighthood?

[greg]

Who will it be in cricket?For me both McGrath and Warne deserve to be knighted and McGrath should get his first if only because he doesn't have the indiscretions off the field that Warne has.If both are not knighted at some point then it shows what a farce it is seeing as Mick Jagger has been honoured for being ugly.

[Six & Out]

I thought Mick Jagger was knighted for the number of women he managed to sleep with in spite of looking like a collagen experiment gone wrong?

[Occasional Fan]

Richie Benaud should be a hundred miles ahead of either of them.

[greg]

Good shout OF.I was only thinking of current players never thought of Richie.

[Oliver]

Richie for mercenary services to any television station showing live cricket? I don't think so.
He is a great man... but I think it unlikely that he would get anything but a posthumous award.

McGrath will get one around the time that he first mentions his retirement.

Warne will get one when he is deep into his late middle ages, assuming he manages to keep Simon the one-eyed trouser Snake well within the confines of his warm nest once he has sorted out the difficulties of married life.

It will be more interesting to see when Muttiah Muralitharan gets his gong for services to cricket. Without wishing to open yet another box of snakes, and despite the licentious law changes, I don't believe he is deserving of one.

Perhaps if he gets to 700 first... or one thousand... which he inevitably will.

There it is then... I don't think Muralitharan should get a knighthood unless he takes one thousand wickets.

[Maranello]

Ollie, Sri Lanka is a Republic and unlike Australia, NZL, Jamaica, Barbados, etc., not one of HM's Overseas Dominions. Hence no Sri Lankan (or for that matter, Indian or Pakistani) cricketer will get any gongs from the Queen or her natural heirs and successors.

[Oliver]

Originally Posted by Maranello

Ollie, Sri Lanka is a Republic

Do you mean like the Republic of Ireland?

So no honourary knighthoods then like the one that "Sir" Bob Geldof has or "Sir" Terry Wogan?

Sorry, I thought there might be a chance.

[Maranello]

Surely Terry Wogan is a British subject now though? He has lived here and monopolised our airwaves for long enough!

[Ninjaman]

The more important question is not who will get one, but why anyone should actually want one.

[Occasional Fan]

Well, we were talking about knighthoods, and there's no chance of them for Warne or McGrath any time soon. They'll have to work their way through the ranks.

Benaud has given 44 years of service to the game since he was made an OBE in 1961. I know he's worked for a few different broadcasters over that period, but what was he supposed to do? Loaf around and wait until the coverage went back to the BBC - which it never will? I don't see how you can possibly call him mercenary for taking his talents to the only buyer on any particular day.

My guess is that he will have to wait until retirement before he gets a knighthood, although I personally would prefer to see the guy honoured before he disappears from the public eye.