Mark Benson

Personal information

Full name

Mark Richard Benson

Born

6 July 1958 (age 58)
Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England

Nickname

Benny

Height

5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)

Batting style

Left-handed

Bowling style

Right-arm off-spin

Role

Batsman, Umpire

International information

National side

England

Only Test (cap 518)

3 July 1986 v India

Only ODI (cap 89)

16 July 1986 v New Zealand

Domestic team information

Years

Team

1980–1995

Kent

Umpiring information

Tests umpired

27 (2004–2009)

ODIs umpired

72 (2004–2009)

T20Is umpired

19 (2007–2009)

Career statistics

Competition	Tests	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	1	1	292	269
Runs scored	51	24	18,387	7,838
Batting average	25.50	24.00	40.23	31.86
100s/50s	0/0	0/0	48/99	5/53
Top score	30	24	257	119
Balls bowled	0	0	467	0
Wickets	–	–	5	–
Bowling average	–	–	98.60	–
5 wickets in innings	–	–	0	–
10 wickets in match	–	–	0	–
Best bowling	–	–	2/55	–
Catches/stumpings	0/–	0/–	140/–	68/–

Source: CricInfo, 6 February 2010

Mark Richard Benson (born 6 July 1958) is an English former cricketer and umpire. Benson is also regarded as one of the worst umpires along with Steve Bucknor and was popular for officiating in the controversial test match between Australia and India in 2008. Benson played for England in one Test match and one One Day International in 1986. He later took up umpiring and spent time on the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires.

Benson was born in Shoreham-by-Sea, West 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.

In January 2016 he retired as an umpire.

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 Ames, 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.

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