Mark Benson
Encyclopedia
Mark Richard Benson is a former International cricket
er and a retired ICC Elite Panel cricket umpire
- he played for England in one Test match
and one One Day International in 1986.
Benson was born in Shoreham-by-Sea
, Sussex
, England
. He was educated at Sutton Valence
school in Kent
and worked for a time as a marketing assistant for Shell
. He then took up full time cricket with Kent
.
, Frank Woolley
and Colin Cowdrey
). He scored 1,000 runs in a season 12 times, with a best of 1,725 runs (average 44.23) in 1987. Benson played 268 One Day matches (5 centuries, 53 fifties, 6 "man of the match" awards) for Kent scoring 7814 runs at an average of 31.89.
For the 1991 Benson was appointed captain of Kent and on his first day as captain he scored a career best 257 against Hampshire
. Under his captaincy Kent were runners-up in the County Championship in 1992, Sunday league champions in 1995 (runners up in 1993) and Benson and Hedges Cup finalists in 1995. At the end of the 1995 season Benson was forced to retire due to a knee injury.
In 1986 Benson played one Test Match
and one ODI for England against India
.
Overall, Benson scored a century every 10.23 innings, the third highest rate for Kent, including a century in each innings v Warwickshire in 1993. Benson and Neil Taylor scored the highest opening partnership (300) for Kent v Derbyshire in 1991. Brian Luckhurst
named Benson as Kent's greatest post war opening batsmen and referred to him as "His generation's unsung hero."
In April 2006, having stood in eight Tests and twenty-four one-day internationals, Benson became one of three umpires promoted from the Emirates International Panel of Umpires to the Emirates Elite Panel of Umpires. He also stood in the 2007 World Twenty 20 final in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Whilst umpiring the second Test between South Africa
and India
at Durban
on 28 December 2006 Benson had to leave the field, after suffering from heart palpitations.
In September 2008 Benson was nominated for the ICC Umpire of the Year award for the second consecutive year.
Benson's career as an umpire was largely without controversy prior to the Sydney Test between Australia and India in January 2008. A series of umpiring decisions went against India in the context of a match which was only lost narrowly; Chetan Chauhan
, India's team manager "said his players were "agitated and upset" [by the] "incompetent umpires here"... [and hoped] "that they will not officiate again in the series." Much of the criticism attached to Steve Bucknor
but Benson "who had a good match in Melbourne, [the previous Test] made a number of errors of his own. Bucknor was officially replaced for the 3rd Test at Perth by Billy Bowden
. Benson was never scheduled to umpire in the 3rd Test with Asad Rauf
taking his place.
Benson also made history in the 1st Test in Sri Lanka, being the first umpire to be asked to refer a decision. When Tillakaratne Dilshan asked for the umpire Mark Benson's decision to give him out caught behind to be reviewed, the English official changed his verdict when the television replay umpire Rudi Koertzen could not say conclusively that the ball had hit his bat or the ground on the way through to the Indian wicketkeeper.
Benson withdrew in the middle of the Second Test match in November 2009, amid speculation that he was upset with the referral system. One of his decisions, to give the West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul
not out to a caught behind decision, was overturned after the Australian team asked for a referral, although the hotspot thermal imaging technology could not detect contact between bat and ball. The ICC denied this, saying that Benson was ill.
On the 5th February 2010 it was announced that Benson was retiring from international cricket umpiring, but would continue to umpire domestic cricket in England.
International Cricket
International Cricket is a cricket video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System that was only released in Australia in 1992. Developed by Melbourne-based Beam Software, it was the only cricket game released for the NES. There were no attempts to release a cricket video game to the North...
er and a retired ICC Elite Panel cricket umpire
Umpire (cricket)
In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...
- he played for England in one Test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and one One Day International in 1986.
Benson was born in Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea is a small town, port and seaside resort in West Sussex, England. Shoreham-by-Sea railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre and London Gatwick Airport is away...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was educated at Sutton Valence
Sutton Valence
Sutton Valence is a village some five miles SE of Maidstone, Kent, England on the Greensand Ridge overlooking the Vale of Kent and Weald. One of the main landmarks in the village is , of which only the ruins of the 12th century keep remain, under the ownership of English Heritage, open any...
school in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and worked for a time as a marketing assistant for Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
. He then took up full time cricket with Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
.
Playing career
Benson made his first-class debut as a left-handed opening batsman in 1980 and was virtually an "ever-present" in the Kent side for the next fifteen seasons scoring over 18,000 runs (48 centuries) for the county. He was Kent's third highest aggregate run scorer in the post-war era and his batting average of 40.27 was the fourth highest for a major batsman in Kent's history (after Les AmesLes Ames
Leslie Ethelbert George Ames, CBE was an outstanding wicket-keeper and batsman for the England cricket team and Kent County Cricket Club. In his obituary, the Wisden of 1991 described him as the greatest wicket-keeper-batsman of all time...
, Frank Woolley
Frank Woolley
Frank Edward Woolley was an English cricketer, one of the finest all-rounders the game has seen. In a career lasting more than thirty years, he scored more first-class runs than anyone but Sir Jack Hobbs, and took over 2,000 wickets at an average of under 20...
and Colin Cowdrey
Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, CBE , better known as Colin Cowdrey, was the Captain of Oxford University, Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team in a career that lasted from 1950 to 1976...
). He scored 1,000 runs in a season 12 times, with a best of 1,725 runs (average 44.23) in 1987. Benson played 268 One Day matches (5 centuries, 53 fifties, 6 "man of the match" awards) for Kent scoring 7814 runs at an average of 31.89.
For the 1991 Benson was appointed captain of Kent and on his first day as captain he scored a career best 257 against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
. Under his captaincy Kent were runners-up in the County Championship in 1992, Sunday league champions in 1995 (runners up in 1993) and Benson and Hedges Cup finalists in 1995. At the end of the 1995 season Benson was forced to retire due to a knee injury.
In 1986 Benson played one Test Match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and one ODI for England against India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
.
Overall, Benson scored a century every 10.23 innings, the third highest rate for Kent, including a century in each innings v Warwickshire in 1993. Benson and Neil Taylor scored the highest opening partnership (300) for Kent v Derbyshire in 1991. Brian Luckhurst
Brian Luckhurst
Brian William Luckhurst was an English cricketer, who played his entire county career for Kent County Cricket Club. He played for Kent from 1958 to 1976, usually opening the batting, then in 1985, in an emergency, played in one more match against the Australians. He was cricket manager from 1981...
named Benson as Kent's greatest post war opening batsmen and referred to him as "His generation's unsung hero."
Umpiring career
After retiring from playing Benson became an umpire, making his first-class umpiring debut in 1997 and standing in international matches for the first time in 2004. He stood in eight matches in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. In September 2007 he was nominated for the ICC Umpire of the Year Award after just one full season on the panel.In April 2006, having stood in eight Tests and twenty-four one-day internationals, Benson became one of three umpires promoted from the Emirates International Panel of Umpires to the Emirates Elite Panel of Umpires. He also stood in the 2007 World Twenty 20 final in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Whilst umpiring the second Test between South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
and India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
at Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
on 28 December 2006 Benson had to leave the field, after suffering from heart palpitations.
In September 2008 Benson was nominated for the ICC Umpire of the Year award for the second consecutive year.
Benson's career as an umpire was largely without controversy prior to the Sydney Test between Australia and India in January 2008. A series of umpiring decisions went against India in the context of a match which was only lost narrowly; Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Pratap Singh Chauhan is a former cricketer who played 40 Test matches for India...
, India's team manager "said his players were "agitated and upset" [by the] "incompetent umpires here"... [and hoped] "that they will not officiate again in the series." Much of the criticism attached to Steve Bucknor
Steve Bucknor
The Honourable Stephen Anthony Bucknor OJ, also known as Steve Bucknor, is a former international cricket umpire. He was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 31 May 1946. He became a high school mathematics teacher and sports coach, before becoming an international football referee and a cricket umpire...
but Benson "who had a good match in Melbourne, [the previous Test] made a number of errors of his own. Bucknor was officially replaced for the 3rd Test at Perth by Billy Bowden
Billy Bowden
Brent Fraser "Billy" Bowden is an international cricket umpire from New Zealand. He was a player until he began to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and took up umpiring...
. Benson was never scheduled to umpire in the 3rd Test with Asad Rauf
Asad Rauf
Asad Rauf, in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, was a first class cricketer and is now a member of the Emirates ICC Elite Umpire Panel.- Playing Days :His career as a first-class cricket player lasted from 1977/78 to 1991/92...
taking his place.
Benson also made history in the 1st Test in Sri Lanka, being the first umpire to be asked to refer a decision. When Tillakaratne Dilshan asked for the umpire Mark Benson's decision to give him out caught behind to be reviewed, the English official changed his verdict when the television replay umpire Rudi Koertzen could not say conclusively that the ball had hit his bat or the ground on the way through to the Indian wicketkeeper.
Benson withdrew in the middle of the Second Test match in November 2009, amid speculation that he was upset with the referral system. One of his decisions, to give the West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Shivnarine "Shiv" Chanderpaul is a cricketer, and former captain of the West Indies cricket team. He is the first Indo-Caribbean in the West Indies team to play 100 Tests for the West Indies and has captained them in 14 Tests and 16 One Day Internationals...
not out to a caught behind decision, was overturned after the Australian team asked for a referral, although the hotspot thermal imaging technology could not detect contact between bat and ball. The ICC denied this, saying that Benson was ill.
On the 5th February 2010 it was announced that Benson was retiring from international cricket umpiring, but would continue to umpire domestic cricket in England.
Umpiring career statistics
| First | Latest | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | Bangladesh v New Zealand at Dhaka, Oct 2004 | Australia v West Indies at Adelaide, Dec 2009 | 27 |
| ODIs | England v West Indies at Nottingham, Jun 2004 | New Zealand v West Indies at Napier, Jan 2009 | 72 |
| 20/20s | South Africa v West Indies at Johannesburg, Sep 2007 | New Zealand v Pakistan at The Oval, Jun 2009 | 19 |
External links
- Mark Benson from CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...
- Benson, Doctrove and Rauf elevated to Elite Panel from CricinfoCricinfoESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...