“He's got him!”

Bill Lawry and his trademark style of calling a dismissal will now be a thing of the past as the legendary Australian commentator and former Test captain called time on his 40-year broadcast career.

Lawry, 81, announced his retirement after Channel Nine, the organisation Lawry had been working with throughout his career, recently lost its rights to televise Australia's matches.

For Lawry, Channel Nine was akin to a home, and it was the end of an era. “Yes, I am (retiring). I've had 40 great years at Channel Nine and been very lucky and I think the time's just right," Lawry told SEN Radio.

“I've had a phone call or two, which is fair enough, and I said no because Channel Nine's been my home, I've been very happy there and I think when you've had such an enjoyable trip, at 81 years of age, it's just the time to call it quits.”

Born in the Thornbury suburb of Melbourne in February 1937, a 24-year-old Lawry made his debut for Australia in a Test against England in June 1961, and scored a half-century in his first innings.

"Luckily, I got some runs early and had a good tour and was selected to play the first Test match,” Lawry told Cricbuzz last year. “I went on to play 67 Test matches from then. I was very lucky; I played with some great players. Richie Benaud was my first captain. My opening partner after three Test matches was Bobby Simpson, and we had a long association as a pair.”

In those 67 Tests, Lawry scored 5,234 runs at 47.15 in a playing career that spanned nearly a decade. Lawry had a stellar first-class career as well, accumulating 18,734 runs in 249 games at a fine average of 50.90.

After retiring from international cricket in 1971, Lawry continued in his role as sales manager of a whitegoods manufacturing company until Kerry Packer introduced World Series Cricket in 1977-78.

Packer invited Lawry into the commentary box at Channel Nine, where he teamed up once again with Richie Benaud, and called the game with the likes of Fred Trueman, the former England paceman.

“I think the time Packer called us together way back in 1975-76, I remember Keith Stackpole and I went to the first meeting or two and I said, 'this will only last for a couple of years, let's enjoy ourselves'. So we were way off the mark there," Lawry told SEN Radio.

The early days weren’t easy, but his first producer, David Hill, ensured the road was smooth thereafter.

“It was a nervous time," recalled Lawry. “When Keith Stackpole and I fronted up to the commentary box for the first game, and it was Richie Benaud and Freddie Trueman. We sat in the back of the box and listened to Richie, who'd been 11 or 12 years at the (BBC) so he was an experienced campaigner, and Freddie Trueman was a great storyteller.

“I looked at Stacky and, said 'we can't do this'. But we did, and we really enjoyed every minute of it, the best seat in the house to watch the best cricketers.”

The journey that began in that Channel Nine commentary box all those years ago ended in early 2018 at the Sydney Ashes Test. His voice will be missed.