Mark Benson - Umpiring Career

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 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" "incompetent umpires here"... "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, 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.