Twelfth Man creator felt ill after hearing of Benaud's death

The man who made a career out of parodying the voice of cricket icon Richie Benaud has told of his devastation at hearing the news of the legend's death.

Comedian Billy Birmingham, best known for his depiction of Benaud in his Twelfth Man series, told A Current Affair he felt nauseas at hearing the news of the cricket commentator's passing despite knowing his death was imminent.

"As a cricketer, as a commentator certainly and as a lovely gentleman I don't think ether will be another one," Birmingham said.

The Twelfth Man creator said Benaud's death had hit him hard.

"It's been a hard day for me today," Birmingham said.

"This morning once news came out of Richie's passing I honestly just sort of felt nauseous, even though I knew it was coming.

"Even though I was expecting it it still sort of took my breath away. I felt nauseous and disorientated this morning and not really in any position to speak in any way eloquently about the loss of Richie Benaud."

Birmingham said even though he regularly poked fun at Benaud's antics the commentator found his work "brilliant" even if had "too much swearing for the sake of it".

Birmingham said people around the world were remembering Benaud not just for his prowess on the filed or in the commentary box but for being "a good bloke and a great Australian".