Fred Trueman with 216 Test wickets and Brian Statham with 229 were poised to overtake the record of 236 Test records set by the assistant-manager Alec Bedser. Benaud was another contender with 219 wickets, but it was Statham who broke the record (only to be overtaken by Trueman in New Zealand) and Benaud had to be content with breaking Ray Lindwalls Australian record of 228 Test wickets. In an early tour match Benaud took his best first class innings haul of 18-10-18-7 for New South Wales against the MCC, which lost by an innings and 80 runs, the states biggest win against the English team. Benaud started the series with seven wickets and a half century as the First Test in Brisbane was drawn. This was followed by three unproductive Tests which yielded only 5/360 and a win apiece. Benaud returned to form with match figures of 5/142 and 57 in the Fifth Test at Sydney, which ended in a draw when Benaud ordered Bill Lawry and Peter Burge (cricketer) to play out the last afternoon for a draw that would retain the Ashes. They were booed and heckled as they left the field and Benauds reputation as a "go ahead" cricket captain was badly tanished. The draw meant that the series was shared 1-1, the first time he had drawn a series after five successive wins. It was another lean series with the ball, Benauds 17 wickets costing 40.47, the third consecutive series where his wickets cost more than 30. His batting was reliable, with 227 runs at 32.47.
Question: Who were the players contending to overtake Bedser's record?
Answer: Fred Trueman | Brian Statham | Benaud