What saved Richie Benaud's bowling career?

Former Australia skipper and legendary broadcaster Richie Benaud, who passed away last week at the age of 84, had a miracle lotion to thank for, which he believed to have saved his bowling career.

Benaud visited a chemist shop of Ivan James on Stafford St in 1957 during his tour to Timaru with the Australian Cricket team for a game against a combined South Canterbury, Mid Canterbury, and North Otago team.

Shop owner James noticed Benuad's wounded fingers' while the latter handed over the prescription to him for combating effects of dengue he had contracted a few months earlier.

Benaud had large raw spots on his finger almost to the bone where the seam of the ball cut in, which could have threatened his bowling career, Stuff.co.nz reported.

In his 1998 autobiography, Benaud revealed that he was handed a small wide-mouthed bottle plus a container with white powder and a piece of paper as a remedy for his wounded fingers.

Benaud, who was known as the voice of cricket, stated that the treatment instantly worked and the skin was toughened so that even prolonged bowling spells didn't produce cracking.

Describing James as genius, Benaud observed that walking into the chemist's shop in Timaru saved his bowling career and was one of the key reasons why from that moment he moved into top gear as an important all-rounder in Australian cricket.